


You're The Only One

by Creedmes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Divergence, Diaster Gays, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Nature, Nervous Keith, Stargazing, Wingman Kosmo, and also, wild child Kosmo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 01:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17840180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creedmes/pseuds/Creedmes
Summary: Shiro and Keith enjoy the solitude and splendor of nature with the same question on their minds: Will he say yes?---"My love is rising the story's unwindin'Together we'll make it 'n' reach for the starsYou're the only one, you're my only oneYou're my life, every breath that I takeUnforgettable, so unbelievableYou're the only one, my only one"





	You're The Only One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheUniqueLee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUniqueLee/gifts).



> Happy Sheithlentines, Lee! You had requested a gift that contained Sheith being cute and fluffy in nature. You also mentioned that Kosmo could be in the story if it fit, and I just couldn't imagine the story existing without him! I hope you like it ^_^
> 
> Thank you so very much for [MissGillette](https://twitter.com/missraygillette) for helping me with coming up with the summary for this! I owe you one, babe!
> 
> Also, song lyrics are from Sergey Lazarev’s song that helped inspire the title for this fic: [You're The Only One](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7hRZS-nLhY) I really think this song is a Sheith song
> 
> And a quick thank you to my friends who offering encouragement to help me keep this story going. Love you all~  
> I'm also on [tumblr](https://creedmes.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/creedmes)  
> ALRIGHT, I'm done talking! I hope everyone enjoys the story! ^_^

The sun’s warmth trickled through the boughs of the towering trees that sheltered them from the intense rays. Tucking loose hair behind his ear, Keith stood off to the side of the dirt trail and took in a breath. It was stunning to be standing here with his two favorite people. Well, more like his favorite person and his favorite loyal companion. High above in the trees, Keith tuned into the gentle humming songs of the cicadas. Listening to how their droning went high and low, he wondered how many were out here today.

As far as he could tell, there had to have been dozens of them lurking on branches and leaves. They were everywhere but he couldn’t see any of them at all. With his hands keeping a firm grip on the straps of his backpack, he tilted his head up and turned left and right to hear the insects melodies; taking in how every shift of his head helped him hear new sounds coming from the buzzing bugs that came in different directions.

The sound of hands slapping against two thighs brought him back to look down the path he had just walked up. He watched as Shiro bent his knees and stared off into the dense forest where the trail couldn’t reach. Being respectful of the plant life and not wishing to disturb the fragile ecosystem, Shiro stood at the very edge of the trail. Keith couldn’t see it from here, but he assumed Shiro didn’t even have the toes of his boots touching the soft dirt. Not even a small plant would be at his mercy as he stood there clapping his hands against his thighs.

The cicadas didn’t falter in their attempt at calling for a possible mate during the comparatively quiet ruckus Shiro was making on the ground floor. Paying him no mind, Keith returned his eyes skyward to see if there was anything of interest above. With the looming heights of the trees, it was hard to tell if he was seeing the leaves shift with the wind or if there were small creatures scampering around on the branches.

The clapping stopped and was replaced with a shrill, high-pitched noise coming from behind. With his ears protesting, Keith felt like his head was going to bloom into a headache if it persisted. He had been listening for the soft cries of the cicadas that the new sound seemed awfully sharp and deafening. His eyes involuntarily widened and he instinctively brought a hand up to press a palm over his ear to shut out the intrusive sound. Keith twisted back around at the hip to see what was going on. Wincing through the next bout of that unpleasant din, he saw what was going on.

Shiro held a thumb and forefinger up to his lips to let out a piercing whistle. His eyes were trained somewhere in the deep low bushes and thicket of the forest. Keith watched as Shiro continued to whistle loudly between long bursts with short breaths to get the attention of their suddenly wayward wolf companion. Wherever the wolf was, Keith hoped he wasn’t getting himself into any trouble where he couldn’t warp out of. He didn’t really want to have to tend to any injuries the wolf might receive if he caught himself in a tricky situation. At least Keith believed the wolf wouldn’t get hurt since he was highly intelligent to him.

It would be just his luck that the wolf would do something to interrupt their special date. Especially when Keith had plans for later tonight. He didn’t want anything getting in his way. He had to train himself to not get too excited right now since he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to keep himself calm without Shiro questioning it. His little surprise had to stay a secret until he was ready to bring it out.

After what felt like his fifth attempt without any sign of an answer, Shiro brought his hands up to both sides of his mouth to try and amplify his voice to call for the wolf. Keith rolled his eyes and smirked when Shiro shouted for  _ Kosmo _ . He still couldn’t believe everyone had come to the unanimous decision of naming the wolf before the wolf could tell them what he wished to be called. He thought it was adorable every time Shiro called the wolf by that name.

Hands still on the shoulder straps and walking down the slight decline in the path to return to Shiro, Keith winced again when Shiro’s voice was a little too loud in his ears as he continued shouting for Kosmo to return. Before Keith could think to tell him to let Kosmo have his fun—that the wolf was safe and could hold his own—the sound of time and space blipping in front of them alerted his ears before his eyes could make any sense of what was going on. He saw the wolf return out of nothing but a sudden bright light; making his unexpected entrance. Kosmo didn’t wait for his space traveling to finish warping him back before he bounded up the path to nearly knock Shiro off his feet and tackle him to the ground.

Hopping back a foot before he could get caught up in the mix as well, Keith stared with wide eyes and held a hand up to his mouth to stifle a short laugh. He watched Shiro stumble as he inevitably fell on his rear as the wolf pushed himself into his lap to deliver a series of wet, sloppy kisses. Kosmo’s tail wagged happily, and he whimpered loud enough that it seemed to drown out the cicadas shrieking calls from above. He shoved his snout into Shiro’s face to assault him with the barrage of drooly licks, ignoring any protest.

“Alright,” Shiro laughed as he gasped for the air that had been knocked out of him. He giggled as Kosmo persisted; working his way closer to lick and slobber all over his face. The happy yips that came from the space wolf made Keith struggle to contain his own glee over the little reunion. “A-alright, Kosmo, stop!” Shiro wrapped his arms around the wolf’s neck to hug him as if that was going to still the thrilled beast. When that only warranted more wet kisses Shiro was probably grimacing at receiving, Shiro untangled his arms and placed his hands on the wolf’s chest to kindly push him away. But the wolf found his way back into Shiro’s personal space and nuzzled his snout on the shelf of Shiro’s shoulders. Kosmo whined when he didn’t want to lose the affection for one of his human companions.

Knowing how kindhearted Shiro was to not want to force the wolf away, Keith knew he was going to be stuck on the ground if he didn’t get some help. He let go of his backpack straps and smirked again at how sweet this situation looked to him.

Stepping forward, Keith flashed Shiro a knowing smile as he helped tug the wolf off. He was gentle as he grabbed a chunk of fur on Kosmo’s scruff and carefully dragged him out of Shiro’s lap. Kosmo let his tongue laze out of his mouth when he caught sight of Keith pulling him away. Flashy yellow eyes looked up at him like he was saying, “That was fun.” When Keith released him, Kosmo spun around in a tight circle before sitting down on the middle of the trail, breathing excitedly; his chest puffing in and out as he panted.

With Kosmo waiting patiently for them, Keith held out a hand for Shiro to help him back up. When he felt Shiro’s warm flesh hand grasp his, he heaved him up until Shiro got on his feet again. Thanks to the large backpack Shiro had brought along with him, however, he needed a bit more help with finding his balance.

Keith went rigid when he felt Shiro listing to the side and he made a sneering expression when the weight of Shiro’s backpack shifted heavily to the left. He had to slide both arms up and under Shiro’s armpits to hold him before he could fall over on his side like an unruly domino. Bringing himself close to press his face into Shiro’s chest to offer stability, Keith kept him steady while the man tried to right his bag from behind. It was a terribly awkward position as they swayed together while Shiro shifted his backpack around, but it was the only thing coming to mind for what he could do to help. After they were certain the small divergence in their hike had been fixed, they held each other until Shiro stopped moving back and forth.

Pressing a smile into Shiro’s chest where his face was still planted, Keith closed his eyes and trembled in a short fit of giggles. He couldn’t help that he found it incredibly amusing. He bent the tip of his nose when he turned his head to free his mouth to pull in fast breaths to gulp in air. With how stable Shiro seemed to be standing for the moment, Keith was terribly aware of how hard it was to stop moving when he wanted to laugh.

“Stop laughing at me,” Shiro said in a mock upset tone. Keith pulled back to look up at him and laughed again when he saw the playful pout staring back at him. He watched as Shiro frowned and lifted a hand to trace a faint line down his face starting at the corner of his eye; mimicking the trail of a cascading tear. He felt his heart dance whenever Shiro was jokingly dramatic like this.

Stepping aside, Keith laced his fingers with Shiro’s so they could hold hands, and to silently agree that he would help keep Shiro from falling over if Kosmo wanted another pouncing hug. Words weren’t spoken, but he had a feeling Shiro still appreciated the kind gesture. Walking forward, they both watched as Kosmo’s ears perked up and he jumped up from his spot and spun around to walk down the trail with them.

The smile didn’t leave his face—not even after Shiro let out a jesting sigh of defeat. The fake pout leaked into his voice when he said, “I didn’t know Kosmo was going to knock me over.” He reached up to wipe a layer of drool off one side of his cheek, and he stared at his hand with partial disgust before rubbing his hand on his pants to hastily clean it.

Hand in hand still, and with Kosmo trotting up ahead, they walked along the winding trail with smaller smiles on both of their faces. While Shiro angled his head up to gaze at the impressive heights of the trees, Keith bit his lip to contemplate. Since they were holding hands—his right in Shiro’s left—he was well aware of how empty Shiro’s hand felt. He was a strong man, but there was something missing in Shiro’s hand Keith wanted to fix later tonight. He believed that when the timing would be right and they were both winding down for the night to stargaze like he had planned, maybe he could finally ask the all important question they’ve been dancing around awkwardly for months now.

Buried in his backpack underneath a rolled up blanket and a spare set of clothes, Keith didn’t try to hype himself up too much with how close he was to finally bringing out the little ring box. If he thought about it too much, he might accidentally rush through everything and would propose right now if his self-control failed him. He’d forget everything he had planned for just to get it over with like it was a chore he could check off his to do list. But it wasn’t time for it just yet; they had to savor the day together and once the mood was right, then he could bring it out. He just hoped with all he had that today would wind up being a great day to remember.

Thinking about it even this little bit added a small skip to his step. Keith had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling too obviously. He didn’t want to have Shiro ask why he was so happy all of a sudden. He supposed he could just say he found it funny that Shiro was knocked down by Kosmo a moment ago, but he didn’t have it in himself to ever tell a lie to Shiro. Rather than draw attention to his soaring excitement, Keith squeezed Shiro’s hand in his and threw the man a kind smile when he looked over to regard him.

Rounding a curve in the trail, they both looked to their left to see a downslope. At the bottom, there was a small trickling creek that worked its way around the smooth gray rocks below. There wasn’t much to the creek now since the beginning of the summer season was particularly dry, and most of the water was gone. But down below, there were still a very faint sound of water pushing to flow through the gaps of the rocks. Almost like the little stream was unrelenting and obstinate. Truly a force to be reckoned with.

Keith tugged at Shiro’s arm so they could stop to look and watch.

Standing on the edge of the trail to peer down, they looked for anything of interest that could capture their attention. Eyes shifting all around down below, there wasn’t much to see other than an abundant gathering of ferns and rocks, and a few other wildlife plants growing nearby. Whatever was down there, he had a feeling neither of them were going to be able to see past the leafy fronds.

If he squinted and really focused, Keith could at least see water gradually moving between the rocks. There wasn’t enough water for anything to swim in other than maybe some fleas or other small bugs. Not even a squirrel would be bothered walking across the tiny creek unless it didn’t like having wet paws. He watched as the flow was trying to go from left to right to an unknown destination alongside the trail they walked.

It was too high to see on the shelf that overlooked the nearly non-existent creek, but Keith liked to think there was just enough water to entice water strider bugs. He couldn’t tell if there was any surface for the bugs to glide on since none of the water appeared stagnate for now, but he liked to imagine they were somewhere nearby. He always thought those creatures were fascinating to watch as they skipped along the surface of the water with grace and elegance. Almost like they were able to dance around like an figure skater who ruled an ice rink.

The hand holding his gave him a slight squeeze that squished his fingers until bone rubbed together. Keith glanced over to see curious gray eyes watching him; searching his face for any telling signs to figure out what he was looking for down at the stream.

“Do you see anything?” Shiro asked curiously.

“Just a bunch of plants and some rocks.” Keith shrugged indifferently.

He watched as Shiro leaned forward to peer back down. He clucked his tongue before asking, “Think there’s any fish in there?” If it weren’t for his lively smirk he had after saying that, Keith would have thought he was serious.

He clapped a hand over his mouth before a laugh could disturb the natural sounds of the forest ecosystem. Keith shook his head with an enlightened grin and stepped away from the edge of the slope to find the center of the trail. Staring just above Shiro’s eyes, Keith giggled between breaths before answering. “I doubt it. The water looks a little too low for fish to be happy.”

Shiro only gave a simple shrug with a more honest smile in turn. He held up both of his hands as if he didn’t know what to say to that. Before they could move on, Shiro cleared his throat to quickly defend his question with, “All I’m saying is there  _ might  _ be some fish in there. You never know. Should always think about the impossible from time to time, you know.”

“That’s true,” Keith agreed, willing to be open-minded about such a wild suggestion. He actually enjoyed it when Shiro offered random tidbits such as there being a chance that fish could be in the water. Maybe they’re incredibly small and can’t be seen without some sort of magnifying technology. He didn’t doubt for a minute there could be hundreds of small creatures in the water right now that he couldn’t see from where he recently stood.

If he was being honest with himself, that was something he always loved about spending time with Shiro. He always tried to challenge Keith’s mind to see if everything wasn’t all it appeared to be. Keith secretly loved it when he was tested with different viewpoints so long as it came from Shiro.

Shrugging that thought out of his mind for now, Keith spun on his heels with Shiro following after to continue on. The dirt shifted underneath his boots with each step forward. Keith wanted to lose himself to staring above at the tall trees with their chaotic, disorderly branches that stretched wherever they pleased, but a blue creature on the ground in front of them drew his attention more. 

Up ahead, they both watched as Kosmo stalked around the trail with his head held low and his backside pointed up at the haunches. He pressed his upper half nearly to the ground, but with how his tail was wagging eagerly, Keith suspected Kosmo was getting ready to chase some unsuspecting creature up a tree. He wasn’t going to put a damper on the wolf to keep him from doing his own thing. Kosmo had been pretty well-behaved during their trip so far, so Keith had no reason to force the wolf to obey to stay close at all times when he was only having fun exploring an Earth forest. It was his first time in one, after all.

The sharp, bone-rattling reverb of Kosmo’s bark made Keith and Shiro flinch when the wolf began to bolt after something. Out of the corner of his eye, Keith watched as Shiro got ready to bring a hand up to his mouth like he was going to whistle after the wolf.

Grabbing Shiro’s hand to add weight to lower it, Keith looked up at him with a half smile. Shaking his head, he didn’t need to use words to tell him to let Kosmo have his fun. He wasn’t going to hurt anything unless he found it to be a legitimate threat. Keith wouldn’t doubt that the wolf was probably curious about seeing a squirrel or a little robin hopping around on the ground floor. As far as either of them knew, Kosmo’s probably never seen half of the strange creatures that lived in this forest. And since he was a stealthy creature by nature, Kosmo would probably be able to find all sorts of curiosities by teleporting to them before they could dash away or hide in the denseness of the shrubs. If there wasn’t any danger for Kosmo, Keith knew he was going to behave and observe from an uncomfortably close distance before scaring off whatever he came across.

Feeling the dirt shift under their boots as they advanced along the path, they listened to how the cicadas droning died down and gave way to the twitterings of little birds. Up above their heads, they took turns looking through the trees to see if they could spot anything other than leaves and branches swishing in a high breeze.

With a hand grabbing his shoulder, Keith halted to see Shiro pointing a finger skyward to show him something. Squinting up to block out the glare of the light filtering down through the split in the trees, Keith searched for any movement. Peeking through the thick dark green trees were little spatterings of the azure sky above. From what he saw, there didn’t seem to be a cloud in sight for now.

Perfect, Keith thought with an inconspicuous wry smile. Without clouds, there would be a better chance for them to see the stars later when the sun would set for the night. So far, this day was just getting better and better for them.

Other than the cloudless sky, all he was able to see were the trees shaking and little blobs of something relatively close to resembling something avian bouncing from branch to branch. Even if he was able to stare up at the dark space with the blue sky starting to make everything blur together, he wasn’t able to figure out what sort of birds might be hopping around in the trees.

“Any idea what it is?” he asked. Glancing down at his feet on the trail, Keith made a conscious effort that he didn’t set a boot on a rogue plant that might be trying to grow when he took a step forward. His vision clouded with black spots for a moment after looking away from the sky, and he blinked repeatedly to try and clear up the spots before looking back up. He made an inquisitive face as he tried to see past the black smears in his eyes.

“I know it was a bird,” Shiro answered. With a cursory glance, Keith watched Shiro’s face pinch as he let out a short yawn. He brought a hand up to his mouth to cover it, and between his parted fingers, he added, “I don’t know what kind it was.”

Nodding at the answer he already suspected, Keith took another step forward and resumed moving down the trail. He didn’t want to linger for too long because he knew he was going to get antsy if he stood around. Time was passing, but it wasn’t going by fast enough for his liking. The weight of the ring box in his backpack was hardly anything to fret about. But with how excited he could get just thinking about it and when he might be granted the chance to finally bring it out, he didn’t trust himself not to rush through everything. He had to tell himself his favorite saying over and over again to remain calm.

Patience yields focus.  _ Patience _ yields focus.

Walking just ahead of Shiro again, he saw the curve in the trail that lead them closer toward the area he had his mind set on. He had been on this trail before a few months ago to get a feel for the setting. He remembered the twists and curves the trail had taken him on, and he believed he had found the perfect place for them to set up camp to rest for the night. And to also possibly ask his question—assuming he was going to be able to hold himself together long enough to ask before turning into a blushy rambling mess. He wanted to charge down the path with Shiro tailing behind, but that wasn’t going to make time speed up any faster. It was only going to force him to wait more than he already wanted to.

He hated to admit it, but he just didn’t have the strength within himself to say sweet nothings the way Shiro was able to. It was just an unfortunate weakness he possessed that prevented him from acting soft when the situation rightfully called for it. Keith knew he was going to have to fix that really soon if he was going to try and propose later. He knew people declared their love in different ways, usually verbally, so he was going to have to focus on the words he chose to say to make sure it came off sincere enough for Shiro to hopefully say “yes” when he asked those magical four words at the end.

Even thinking about how he planned on proposing made his stomach do flips inside that made him want to sweat from nerves and excitement. The fluttering of his heart tapped wildly inside his chest and he wished he could figure out how he was going to battle himself—his own enemy for tonight—so he could show Shiro exactly how much he loved him. It didn’t help that Keith wasn’t particularly fond of upright confessions of love. He always found it to be something meant to be done in private, and since he was going to be alone with Shiro later tonight, he hoped that it was only going to be the two of them and Kosmo. The thought of having an audience of any sort made him wish they were somewhere like Shiro’s room back on the Atlas. At least then there’d be a door to keep their conversation private.

Keith crossed his fingers on his right hand in front of his body so Shiro wouldn’t see it. He tried to stay optimistic that everything will work out all right for them when that time came. If he thought about it too much, he’d just wind himself up into a panic. Not wanting to risk bailing out when they were already so close, yet so far from that special moment he yearned for, Keith ignored all of his hopeless thoughts.

He shut out all of the noise in the forest for now. He didn’t want to take in the sounds of chirping birds and branches breaking overhead. Thinking back to that day when he came out here all alone, he remembered how beautiful and empty the small clearing was when he came across it. Nothing but soft green grass and some clover patches had been growing when he found the clearing in February. It was nearly perfect. The only thing it was missing was Shiro by his side.

He wanted to commit the first time he saw it to memory, and he hoped that it would be a lot more beautiful and warmer when they found it again. Keith knew it was just a couple more hundred yards ahead or so. It was so close, he could picture it calling out to him. Having to stamp down the excitement in his still dancing heart, he tried not to look back to see how far ahead he was pulling away from Shiro. He bit his bottom lip to keep his smile in check from growing too large and obvious.

With a quick glance back, his smile faltered with a twitch. Keith watched as Shiro trudged up the trail behind him with his hands holding both straps of his backpack. He looked like he was getting worn out already. Head pointed down, he slowly made his way up to close the distance that separated them. He knew he was worn out since they had been doing a bit of walking today on some rough and unreasonable terrain. Keith watched and gave him a reassuring smile when Shiro looked back up to greet his awaiting amethyst eyes.

“Tired?” he asked with a kind smile.

Shiro gave him a smile with a half-lidded expression in return. When he was within arms reach, Keith grabbed a hand to hook their elbows together. Keith had to stand on the toes of his boots to reach Shiro’s face to quickly plant a kiss on his cheek. But before he could go in to steal another one, Shiro smirked and turned his head so that their lips connected. Staring into dark gray eyes, Keith couldn’t help but think that Shiro was going to say something to him. But when he didn’t speak and let the silence twirl between them, it made him wonder what was going on in Shiro’s head. There was something in that half-lidded expression of his that made the excitement in his heart jump back into action for a whole new reason. There was hardly a doubt in Keith’s mind that he knew tonight was going to be one to remember.

Standing the way they were, arm in arm, Shiro tilted his head slightly to the right and looked at him with a seemingly knowing gaze. Staring at each other for a spell, they let the sounds of the forest engulf them; to wrap around their ears like a comfy blanket of diverse sounds. The cicadas were quieter than before, but they could still be faintly heard. As were the chirps from birds as they sang songs to each other from their high perches on the boughs of trees.

Whether he was feeling the familiar sensation of his heart running rampant in his chest that seemed to cause his entire body to grow hot, or if it was the streaks of the sun’s light that shone down in sparse rays on top of their heads, Keith felt a heated blush creep up to tickle his skin a pale shade of pink. He unlinked their arms so he could wrap his arms around Shiro’s body. In return, Shiro did the same to let both large hands settle close to Keith’s hips and he was pulled in close.

A pale blush forced its way up Keith’s neck and underneath his eyes, but he tried not to think about it. With how they stood at the moment, holding each other close, he let his mind think about how they seemed to fit perfectly together like two pieces of a puzzle. Even with a bunch of other puzzle pieces that could have gotten in their way, it was a relief to know they finally had each other right here, right now. A bashful little smile came on his face, and he didn’t bother trying to hide it from Shiro. If they could stand here together forever, he was certainly he’d have no protest with matter.

Shiro’s voice was low, but he didn’t sound as tired as he had appeared when he broke the silence, but it felt like the quietude remained even as he spoke.

“I’ve got a question for you.”   


Keith hummed as a response and shuffled his feet closer into Shiro’s space. Both arms around the man, Keith made sure he wasn’t going to be easily let go by lacing his fingers together near the small of his back to keep him from escaping the embrace. Not that he suspected Shiro wanted to be let go right now anyway.

Before Keith could say anything when Shiro didn’t speak for a second, Shiro finally asked, “How many times are you going to help me back up by the end of the day?”

The smile that struck Keith’s face was immediately given back in return. A soft chuckle left Shiro when he had a vague idea of what Keith was going to tell him. And instead of throwing the man for a loop and telling him something different for a change, Keith stood on his tiptoes again to press his mouth close to Shiro’s ear to whisper, “As many times as it takes.”

Watching the sun’s rays leaking through the tops of the trees, Keith lost himself in how the light made Shiro’s silver hair shine with a golden sheen at the edges. He reached a hand up to hold onto his sharp jawline before letting his fingers trail down toward his chin. He grabbed Shiro there and pulled his head down so he could kiss him again without straining on his toes.

Their lips parted, but they kept their faces close to linger in each other’s space. The softness in Shiro’s voice drew Keith’s attention, and his words traveled deep within him to make him think.

“Keith, I do have an actual question for you, though. How often have you stopped to smell the roses recently?”

They both paused as the words sunk in. And then he squinted as he looked up at Shiro. What was he going on about? Turning his head left and right, and even peering over both broad shoulders, Keith couldn’t see anything close to resembling the beautiful flower. There were no roses anywhere around them in the forest and it made him wonder what had brought on such an odd question. Chewing on his lip when he was left without an answer to give, Keith shrugged his shoulder; at a loss for words.

“It’s just an expression.” Keith stared into Shiro’s eyes, but he couldn’t help but notice the way Shiro’s lips moved. He found himself worrying at his lips while Shiro went on to explain. “It just means to relax; like you should stop every once in a while and to literally smell the roses rather than walk past them. I don’t know if you’re aware, but you seem to be rushing through this walk. Are you just exciting to get to the campsite or something?” With curious eyebrows waggling down at him, Keith felt the blush on his face deepen in color.

Shiro removed his right hand from Keith to stuff it casually into a pocket in his pants. With those gray eyes watching him, Keith couldn’t find any words in his vocabulary that could explain himself without giving anything away. He thought he had been doing pretty well so far. If he wasn’t thinking about Shiro’s “patience yields focus” line to keep himself from trying to get to the end of the trail as fast as possible, was he so obvious that it didn’t take long for Shiro to notice?

Curse him for that handsome smile he was giving Keith. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to handle looking at Shiro for much longer before he fell into the possibly unexpected trap. He didn’t have any reason to believe Shiro was suspicious of what he had planned for later, but he didn’t need to have him wondering why they were hurrying through the hike either.

Keith stared off just past Shiro’s shoulder rather than answer him. What should he say? He hadn’t a clue how to shift the conversation elsewhere because he didn’t trust himself not to accidentally spoil the surprise. It would be just his luck to outright tell him he planned on asking a very important question soon. But he couldn’t give up so easily because he knew he just had to keep Shiro on his toes. To keep him guessing and wondering what the real reason they’re on a camping date today.

Bracing both hands on Shiro’s chest, Keith gently pushed himself away and out of the tender hold. He wasn’t deterred from the question, and hoped his action didn’t show that. He just had no idea what to respond with and wanted to move on with the hike. As much as he had to tell himself to stop and smell the imaginary roses, he would like to keep moving rather than stand around doing nothing. They have all night to cuddle together without anything interrupting them. Keith puffed out his chest when he took in a steadying breath to calm his frantic mind. If Shiro was skeptical about what was really going on, he would have asked already. There wasn’t any need for Keith to be nervous or panic about anything.

Holding out a hand as a silent offering—and to keep that perplexing question at bay—he waited until Shiro finally ignored his query as it went unanswered so they could hold hands again and move on. He didn’t wait long for Shiro to pull his hand out of his pocket and grab Keith’s hand with the other.

If they could make it to the evening for today and relax under the stars, then hopefully he’ll be able to answer that question that lingered in the air. It felt like it was stepping between them to make everything awkward, but he shoved it out of the way so it didn’t suffocate both of them. Even if he hated not answering Shiro, he would hate it more if he accidentally confessed why he was forcing them along when he should have had more patience to begin with. Who would have thought having patience would yield so much focus? He certainly hadn’t considered it until he started really thinking about it.

Continuing with their walk—slower than usual so that Keith could smell the nonexistent roses—they tried to take their time to admire the forest.

It wasn’t on all of the trees, but Keith noticed some form of ivy had climbed its way up the trunks to reach ridiculous heights a couple feet taller than him. He wondered if it was strangling the trees to have the ivy there. Would it be wise for him to step off the trail to rip the ivy off? Or would it be wrong of him to do so since he would be hurting one plant to free another? He wasn’t sure if it could be treated like a symbiotic relationship between the two. He may enjoy nature a great deal, but he just didn’t have the knick or skill to learn about the local plantlife to know.

It didn’t even matter, really. It wasn’t his place to dictate what could happen in the forest since he wasn’t in charge of it. If plants wanted to grow wildly however they pleased, he wasn’t going to step in the way of that.

Thinking about how unruly the ivy was growing made him think about Kosmo for an unknown reason. He wasn’t sure how that happened, but he suspected maybe it was because the odd nature of the plant reminded him of how alike it was with the wolf. The plants did what it pleased—just like Kosmo. Speaking of which . . .

“Any idea where space wolf is right now?” Keith looked over at Shiro to see if he had any clue. All he was given was a casual shrug of his shoulders and soft pouty lips. Keith rolled his eyes and smirked when Shiro giggled at the nickname. They’ve had this discussion before that he wasn’t going to call him Kosmo. Shiro knew that! He still refused to call the wolf by any name other than the one the wolf will eventually tell him. He didn’t know how long it’ll take until the wolf decided to talk to them on what he wanted to be called, but until then, he’ll be known as  _ space wolf _ to Keith.

He shook his head and smirked when Shiro gathered himself. He wasn’t going to let anything bother either of them. And he certainly wasn’t going to let Shiro’s amusement in what Keith called Kosmo get to him. It honestly didn’t even bother him if it was Shiro. If it was anyone else, he might get a little irritated, but he’d never lash out or anything. It was just a name, after all. Rather than think any more about it, he decided to look at Shiro while they walked together.

Warm sunlight shone down on them still and it painted yellow colors along Shiro’s skin that entranced Keith in a daze. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. They slowly walked along the trail with Shiro stealing quick glances back at him while Keith kept his eyes entirely on him. Every time they walked past a shaft of light, he seemed to shine with it. Like he was a part of the sun and he was reflecting the light back to glow brighter. Almost like he was completely ethereal.

With the green leaves in the background, Keith wondered how he would ever be able to commit such a beautiful sight to memory among the many others he had stored in his mind. He didn’t think he’d be able to dig out his phone fast enough to get a picture since it was buried in his bag somewhere. Would Shiro look the same if they stopped long enough for him to find it and get a quick picture? Or should he just enjoy Shiro as he was in this very moment? He went with the latter and took mental shots instead. No one else deserved to witness something so handsome and charming. He’ll keep these thoughts all for himself.

Space and time blipped in front of them. The high-pitched whine caught Keith’s attention first to interrupt his thoughts on Shiro. White circles of varying sizes forced themselves into existence to bring their venturesome wolf friend back to them for the second time.

Standing before them, they both smiled to see Kosmo panting and staring up at them with excitedly lit up eyes. His tongue flapped out of the side of his mouth, and thanks to the sun’s light, Keith could see a thin line of drool sliding off the tip of his tongue to stretch toward the ground. He’ll probably always be a very drooly wolf.

“Hey, buddy,” Shiro cheered. He bent his knees and held out his arms to welcome their friend back. Wherever Kosmo had just been, Keith hoped he didn’t roll around in something smelly. He was already going to smell like a dog that was out in a windy day; he didn’t need any extra odors wafting off of him they were going to be stuck smelling for the rest of the day. And he especially wouldn’t care for having to endure those same smells if they rubbed off onto Shiro.

Kosmo bounded up to the man to nearly topple him over when he pounced into his awaiting embrace by giving him a hug of his own. Shiro grunted as he struggled to keep hold of his balance, but he was able to hold his own this time at least. If he hadn’t been ready for the impact, Shiro might have fallen over again. With his backpack still on, he was able to account for the collision from Kosmo’s enthusiasm before he’d fall back on his rear or off to the side. Other than a slight jolt and a step backward to remain stable, he seemed to have himself under control.

Coming up next to the two, Keith squatted down to join in the awkward hug Shiro tried to give Kosmo. The happy wolf kept his tongue to himself as he pressed his wet nose against Shiro’s neck while he received head pats and back scratches. So long as he got those two things, he would withhold his sloppy kisses.

While ruffling the area between Kosmo’s pointed ears, Keith would love nothing more than to laze around and pet the wolf for a while. Before he could let himself think about cooing and showering Kosmo with appreciation, two things were unfortunately stopped him from doing so. He didn’t want to waste anymore time in getting to the clearing, and it seemed that Kosmo was also covered in something now that his hand brushed against something a lot more coarse and prickly than Kosmo’s soft fur.

Slowing down his petting, Keith reached for one of the things stuck to Kosmo. There seemed to be a lot of them from what he could see from a quick glance. They were small and ranged from bright green that stood out obviously, to a dark brown that was almost masked in his navy blue fur. He pinched his fingers against one of the bristles and tried his best to pull it free from Kosmo. The wolf whined through his nose, but there wasn’t any further protest. It was just a slight tug and soon the strange thing was pulled free—along with some fur that unfortunately came along with it.

Keith held it up close to his face to look at it. This one was bright green with a little bit of a purple flower growing near what he assumed was the top part of the odd plant. Looking past the flower, he saw Shiro staring at what he was holding.

“Looks like a thistle if I had to guess,” Keith muttered.

Shiro nodded. They regarded the wolf in silence—wondering just how many of these prickly plants the poor boy might’ve gotten himself covered in. Whether he was chasing an innocent animal like a rabbit or a squirrel and tripped into a bush of thistles, or he decided to just roll around in whatever he found, they couldn’t be sure how it happened. They didn’t have a comb or a brush conveniently packed away for this trip, so they might have to try and pick as many of the little bristles out by hand.

Just what they needed right now. A distraction. Keith wanted to roll his eyes or let himself get irritated by this stall, but he told himself not to do anything he’d regret. At least Kosmo came back to them and he thankfully wasn’t hurt. He was at least grateful for that. If they were going to have to pick all of the thistles off by hand, they were probably going to be spending at least thirty minutes doing so.

But that was going to have to wait, unfortunately. Keith didn’t want to wait around here any more than they already have. If they could just get to the clearing, maybe he’ll be able to relax a little bit. It sounded wrong that he wanted to ignore Kosmo while he was stuck like this, but he didn’t have a whole lot of patience left before he’ll lose all sense of “smelling the roses.”

Keith told himself that once they get to their campsite, then he and Shiro can give the wolf their undivided attention to help take every little piece off. It wasn’t like it was poking his skin or hurting him. With how thick Kosmo’s fur was, it seemed like it wasn’t going to be bothering him at all for the time being. Besides, what would the point be in picking it all out right now only for him to run off again and get covered in more?

Keith stood up and flicked the thistle in his hand away—watching as it flew through the air to land on the ground without so much as a sound. He told Shiro they could help Kosmo once they got settled for the evening. He stood around close enough to help Shiro back up and they followed the trail once more. Kosmo trotted alongside Keith with a carefree smile like he knew he was their mischievous boy. Rolling his eyes with a grin, Keith patted the wolf’s head before picking out one more thistle for now.

Before his impatience could get the better of him and force him to scoop Shiro up bridal style and charge down the trail to find the clearing, Keith slowed his pace and took in a reassuring deep breath. Calm down, he thought to himself. Patience yields focus. Remember to stay and smell the roses like Shiro had said. Relax!

The weight of Shiro’s hand reaching out to find its usual place on Keith’s shoulder didn’t go unnoticed. Moving himself closer into Shiro’s space, he tried his best to remain calm while focusing on not accidentally bumping into him or stepping on his toes. Looping his own arm around Shiro’s waist and letting his hand fall along the curve of his hip felt right. It felt as if his hand belonged there and it had found its place after being unknowingly lost. Just like a puzzle piece.

A soft breeze picked up to blow past them and it rattled the low hanging branches and some shrubs. Kosmo perked his head up; the familiar gaze of attentive eyes scanned their current surroundings. Keith looked over at him to see the wolf’s tail wagging slowly. Curious, but cautious nonetheless. Stalking forward to investigate, Kosmo turned his head left and right dramatically like he was expecting something from a shrub or some bramble to jump out and scare him. Turning from one side of the trail and trotting toward the other, the wolf stuck his nose to the ground and began to investigate.

Keith and Shiro remained holding each other close as they finally stopped and watched the wolf look for what caught his attention. Keith could only assume Kosmo found the tracks of some sort of wild animal; possibly a creature he has yet to see. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if Kosmo found tracks for something new and raced off again to see if he could find the end to this mysterious scent trail.

Warmth from Shiro’s cheek grazing against Keith’s made him jump from the initial contact. He flinched too, with a wry smile, when he realized he accidentally startled him.

“Sorry,” he said with a cheeky grin. Keith simpered and looked away. He wanted to watch and see what Kosmo was doing, but he found his eyes landing on the bramble of thorns growing along the side of the trail to his left. Shiro’s deep voice was enough to keep him just on the edge of attentiveness. He listened as Shiro asked if he had any idea what Kosmo was up to this time.

He didn't respond. His voice worked fine, he was sure. It was more like a mix of him paying attention to hear what Shiro had just asked, but it also felt like he wasn’t entirely sure if he could give a viable answer since he didn’t have a clue what went on through the wolf’s head. From where they stood, Keith was just able to make out the little speckles of small reddish berries and plump, blacker ones. Angling his head to look back to Shiro, he apologized for not listening and asked his own question.

“What kind of plant do you think that is?” He pointed to indicate  _ which _ plant he was talking about. Keith watched as dark gray eyes went from his face to looking past him to check out the mystery bush along the side of the trail. Pulling their arms away from each other, they held equally peculiar gazes to see if the plant was what they thought it was.

A shiver ran up Keith’s back when a roll of the wind swept by as they separated. A chill tickled its way up along his spine to disperse at his shoulders, wrapping around him like a blanket before disappearing gradually down his arms and out through his fingertips.

Instead of letting the wind get to him, he took a moment to join both halves of the zipper of his jacket together and zipped it up. Righting the straps of his backpack before they could fall off his shoulders, he stuffed both hands into his pockets. Keith walked an arms length away from Shiro as they crossed the trail to inspect the bushes. To their right, Kosmo continued to curiously sniff the ground as he paced back and forth.

Keith was about to reach out and grab one of the familiar berries when he saw the place he’d been yearning for on the other side of the thick bramble and leaves. Even though the berries were enticing to grab, his eyes lit up more when he finally saw something better. Light green grass and nothing but the beautiful clearing was just on the other side of this wall. So far from what he could see, it looked pretty much the same as last time.

The first time he had seen it, the weather was cold and there had been a gathering of geese who decided to call the place their landing spot for the day. It was hard to tell with the chaotic nest of the berry bush in his way, but it looked empty from what he could tell. Keith’s chest tightened against his jacket when he tried to take in a breath to hold it. He hoped they’ll be able to spend the night  _ alone _ this evening. All he’d ever ask for is to spend the night with Shiro without anyone around to bother them. His only exception was Kosmo since they both didn’t have it in their hearts to leave the wolf at home while they were out on an adventure today.

Just on the other side of the bush was one step closer to the perfect ending for the day Keith’s had in mind for a few months now. He would jump in the air and drag Shiro by the wrist through the thorny bush just so they could get to the clearing faster, but he had to remind himself to calm down and take things slow. Smell the roses, don’t just walk past them. Spending time with Shiro today was better than aiming for the ending when they were still in the beginning of it all. He’s even tried his best to ignore the ring sitting patiently deep inside his backpack until now.

Focusing his eyes back on the dark, prickly green leaves and the sharp thorns in front of him, he went to reach for a plump berry. Two fingers and a thumb grabbed one, but when he tried to pluck it free, the twist of his hand made contact with one of the thorns. The poke was hardly anything to fret about; however, the little stab still hurt when he hadn’t expected it to happen. Keith didn’t yelp or wince when he pulled his hand back, leaving the berry still connected to its stem. It was more like being pricked with a needle, and he was left with the phantom feeling of being poked again even though it just happened.

“You alright?” Shiro asked in a worried tone. He instinctively held out his hand to set it caringly on the small of Keith’s back. He leaned close into Keith’s space to see how he held his hand in the other, rubbing the top of it with a thumb. Keith wasn’t worried—in fact, he wanted to giggle at how they reacted to a little thorn stabbing him—as he slowly turned his hand back and forth to inspect it. On the top part of his hand was a very faint, hardly discernible white line where the thorn had scratched him. It was more like the shock of it that made his heart suddenly race in his chest, but it seriously wasn’t anything they should worry about.

“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.” Keith glanced to Shiro and blinked pretty amethyst eyes up at him to let him know everything was okay. That it wasn’t something neither of them should freak out about at all.

Shaking his hand to brush off the sensation of remembering how the thorn scraped against his skin, Keith put on his best face to show Shiro that he wasn’t bothered by it.

He was about to give it another try—and had kept a diligent mental note to be mindful of where his hand was going—but Shiro beat him to it. Keith shook his head with an appreciative look as he watched Shiro use his bionic arm to reach into the bush without a care and began grabbing berries one by one without being asked. Holding them in a loose fist, he slowly worked on plucking a decent handful without any fear of being poked, stabbed, or grazed. Out of the numerous things Shiro’s arm was capable of doing, being unable to feel the thorns turned out to be a plus in this situation.

Keith brought a finger up to his chin to think. Since Shiro was busy, Keith’s eyes happened to fall down toward his side and he saw how Shiro’s hand rested next to his hip. A corner of his mouth ticked up slightly when he thought about how the ring might look on Shiro’s ring finger. He hoped it was going to be big enough. Shiro was always one to have incredibly large hands now that he thought about it. If it turned out that the ring was too small, they’ll just have to make a quick trip to a jewelry story to get it sized appropriately.

E ven allowing himself this one moment to fantasize about seeing that metal ring wrapped around Shiro’s finger sent another shiver up his spine. And this time it wasn’t the wind that caused it. His imagination could take this simple thought about one special ring and run wild with it. There was a version of himself Keith had in mind that would easily snatch a loose thread of a thought about this upcoming proposal that could drag him over the edge with excitement.

He wondered how Shiro would react if he just grabbed his hand right now and got down on one knee. He’d have to dig out the ring without him noticing if he went ahead and did that, but if he was able to get that far, he couldn’t even begin to think what sort of face Shiro would make if he did such a ballsy move. Would Shiro blush deep red like the unripened berries? Maybe cover his face with a hand and smiled from ear to ear while Keith told him how much he meant the world—no, the universe to him? 

Keith furrowed his brows at that suddenly intrusive thought, and the hand up by his mouth closed into a fist. He had to stop thinking about how exuberant a declaration of love could make  _ him _ feel. He was only staring at Shiro’s hand while he was busy picking berries. He didn’t have to get himself tied up into eager thoughts about all this. He especially didn’t want to freak himself out over how he might sound when he told Shiro exactly how much he loved him.

Thankfully, Shiro didn’t notice how Keith’s arms started to tremble or how he brought both hands up to his chest to clasp them together in front of his sternum to keep them from shaking. He didn’t need to worry him with how he was acting right now. All of these raw, unfiltered emotions were slowly building up inside, but he had to force himself to hold onto them to make sure he didn’t act conspicuous enough to be caught plotting something.

Keith was well aware that a lot of people got nervous and anxious about these sort of things. From how his muscles tensed up every time he thought about it, he knew that if Shiro so much as glanced his way, he’d know immediately that something was going on. Realizing as much, Keith’s eyes widened in horror when he worried Shiro would notice him and ask if he was okay. Straining the muscles in his calves, he slowly lowered his hands from his chest and focused on taking even breaths to calm himself down before he was noticed. So long as he didn’t think about the ring, he should be relatively safe from any of Shiro’s suspicions for what might elicit such a worried, yet excited expression on his face.

Shiro was still busy picking only the best berries from the assorted clusters, and when Keith leaned back to look beyond Shiro’s broad back, he saw Kosmo had ignored whatever smells he had found earlier. The wolf had decided that since they were idly hanging out by the blackberry bush, Kosmo had lied down and was basking in a shaft of sunlight on the warm dirt of the trail. Even from where he stood, Keith could make out the diverse shades of green that stuck to the wolf’s fur still. He shook his head again and held back a cluck of his tongue at how they were going to have to try to remove all of the little thistle plants by hand.

Eyes returned to watching Shiro, who had a determinant look on his face as he searched for the ripest berries. Keith absently took his right index finger and thumb, and began rubbing both sides of his left ring finger where a ring would go. Rolling his skin back and forth, he thought about what it was going to be like once they made a trip to a jewelry store to get a ring for himself. He was certain Shiro was going to say “yes” regardless, but he had forgone the idea of getting himself a ring for now. There was an air to it that felt odd if he got a ring as well. Something in his gut told him it was best that he wait instead of acting impulsively. Almost like he’d be rewarded in due time.

He’ll never admit it, but he had done plenty of research hunting all around the galaxy for the perfect ring. After believing he’d finally found—more like made—the one, he seriously hoped with all he had that Shiro would crush him in a hug when he pulled out the box. It would save him the embarrassment of having to give some corny spiel about proclaiming his love to him and how he wanted to spend his whole life by Shiro’s side. He always thought he wasn’t one for sentimental speeches. He at least wanted to try and aim for saying something, if only for Shiro’s sake.

Staring at his hand while he went on massaging his finger, Keith found himself almost entranced by watching the skin shift left and right. The only thing that kept him grounded in reality was the faint rustling of leaves and thorns brushing up against each other. If he focused his ears to listen to every sound that settled over the intense hush of the forest, he could hear Kosmo panting with his tongue sticking out. The forest wasn’t all quiet; there wasn’t a spell that settled over them that made every noise vanish completely. Though it was farther down the path they had just walked from, he could still hear the cacophony of calls from the cicadas.

Dirt crunched in front of him, louder than everything else that breathed life in the forest, and a second later, a hand moved in front of his periphery. Tearing both hands away from each other to swing them back down toward his sides, he sheepishly glanced up to see the curious expression on Shiro’s face. Head tilted to the side with a kind grin, Shiro looked at him with something that held a hint of suddenly piqued interest.

“Is your hand okay?” He was going to feel himself melt under that watchful gaze if he kept staring at Shiro. Keith averted his eyes to stare anywhere else and found himself looking at the offered hand in front of him. The blackberries in his hand looked good enough to make his mouth water.

Even though he was certain Shiro was careful while he picked them, the purple juices still managed to stain his mechanical palm and fingertips. Staring at the delicate little hairs around the berries, Keith didn’t hear Shiro when he said his name to get his attention. The gesture of Shiro’s arm moving forward abruptly to nudge Keith gently in the chest was what forced him to blink himself out of a silent daze. Looking up in surprise, he finally listened as Shiro asked, “Are you all right?”

“O-of course I am.” He fisted both hands down by his sides. Not only was he struggling to pay attention because he was caught daydreaming, but now he might as well have worried his love with his sudden distant mind. Keith cleared his throat before bringing a back up to ponder at his chin. “I guess I was just . . . lost in thought.”

“Lost in thought?” Shiro repeated quietly. “May I ask what about?”

Keith sputtered at that. What should he say? He couldn’t just tell Shiro exactly what he was thinking. He wouldn’t even be able to explain why he was just casually messing with his  _ ring finger _ a moment ago because that was an obvious hint in and of itself. Without the need of a mirror to verify it, Keith knew a wild blush was hastily creeping up on him again. He could feel the heat pooling on his cheeks and across his nose, and he was certain it was painting his neck red as well. If he didn’t say something to keep Shiro from pressing, then he might turn as red as one of the roses from the idiom Shiro had told him.

“It’s nothing, really.” He faked a laugh. Covering his mouth with a hand to keep his secret plan from slipping out, Keith stared down at the dirt while shaking his head—trying his best not to say anything else. He couldn’t afford to let Shiro unknowingly corner him with such a loaded question. He took in a calming breath before steeling himself to look back up at Shiro who was waiting ever so patiently as if he didn't have a clue what was going on through Keith’s head right now. 

The reassured smile on Shiro’s face helped deflate some of the worry he felt growing inside his chest. Good, hopefully he doesn’t suspect anything since he was almost caught giving away an incredibly accidental clue about what he was thinking about just then. Keith sucked air in through his teeth and shifted his footing while attempting to act natural. He failed, but Shiro didn’t push him further.

After a moment of silence, Shiro’s bionic arm in front of him shifted forward in a gesture that offered him one of the berries. Nodding his thanks since he didn’t know if he was going to be able to speak without stammering, Keith picked up one of the berries carefully between his thumb and forefinger.

When Shiro made a calculated once over with the berries in his hands before choosing, he grabbed one as well. Without saying anything, they raised their berry they held and tapped them together like they were toasting with champagne glasses. With the air of excitement swirling around them, Keith didn’t even bother trying to stop himself from grinning and biting at his bottom lip.

“Cheers,” Shiro said softly, a slight twinkle in his eye when he regarded Keith before popping the berry into his mouth.

Keith didn’t waste time to do the same. Stuffing the blackberry into his cheek, he tried not to blush from a rush of delayed embarrassment by looking elsewhere. But every time he looked somewhere, he noticed his eyes steadily finding their way back to Shiro. It didn’t help he was right in front of him. He was incredibly hard to miss that way. When he noticed Shiro was watching him, too, he darted his eyes away again before bashfully trying not to giggle. His shoulders lifted up and down as he tried to miserably stifle his laughter. Even if Shiro couldn’t hear the choked little snorts, he was surely going to see Keith struggling to keep himself together.

Trying not to laugh had squished the berry that was in his mouth against his teeth. Peeking his eye opened, he could only imagine how he must look right now. He didn’t care if there was any residue from the one berry he picked up on his fingers when he covered his face. The sound of Shiro chuckling next to him only made his skin flush redder and burn hotter.

The blackberry was sickeningly sweet when the juice hit his tongue, but the reason his face pinched together was the delightful smile he saw when he peeked at Shiro through parted fingers.

“Stop laughing at me,” Keith whined.

“Aw,” Shiro cooed. Stepping closer, Shiro wrapped his flesh arm around Keith’s shoulder to pull him in close. He offered him another berry that Keith gratefully accepted. It’ll give him a moment of reprieve from having to say anything since he was all flustered now. The berry was smaller than the first one, but he didn’t really care. He popped it into his mouth all the same and let it sit on the tip of his tongue like it was going to keep any awkward mumblings he had in mind from escaping. It acted as a weight that told him he shouldn’t say anything right now.

Bending down close to his ear, Shiro whispered warmly, “You’re just so cute. I couldn’t help it.”

Keith buried his face into the soft middle of Shiro’s chest and wrapped his arms around him. He wasn’t able to link his arms together since Shiro still had his large backpack, but that didn’t stop Keith from trying his hardest to squeeze him closer. He couldn’t handle hearing such a thing without feeling his blush skyrocket further. At least one warm hand on his shoulder held him tight and the deep timber of Shiro’s chuckles calmed down as time passed.

The sound of Shiro’s voice vibrated in Keith’s ear when he heard him say, “Do you want anymore berries? They’re pretty good.”

Pushing away, Keith remembered the one he had still sitting on his tongue. He wasn’t going to say anything to actually give him an answer, but he did forget that he had one in his mouth. Reclaiming their personal space, Keith brought a hand up to his mouth to cover it while he shook his head. He worked on chewing the berry he had before swallowing it—shivering when the sourness hit him all at once when he finally tasted it. For something so small, it managed to pack a pretty serious punch.

Lowering himself down into a squat position, Shiro carefully placed the rest of the berries on the ground. He looked back up to see Keith watching him, and he explained that maybe a squirrel or a raccoon might find it and take it. He wasn’t sure if the animals would care for such a kindness, or if they would even bother taking it since it was mysteriously on the ground in a little pile, so Keith kept his mouth shut. It was the thought that counts at least.

When Shiro stood again and brushed his hands together to get rid of any miniscule blackberry scraps, he gave Keith a little nod and they walked alongside the brush down the trail. Before they could even reach where Kosmo lied on the dirt—who had been soaking up the warm sunlight and enjoying himself—the wolf stood up and faced the blackberry bush with his ears lowered and eyes narrowed. Rear end high in the air, he growled while baring sharp teeth. The hackles on his neck stood up on end and Keith instinctively halted in his track.

Whatever Kosmo saw, no one was sure if it was an innocent creature of the forest or something Kosmo perceived to be a threat. He couldn’t make anything out through the thick bramble in the way, but he was able to see  _ something _ moving just on the other side of it.

Shiro’s cool bionic hand slid into his and they both hunched down low—trying their best to hide from whatever caught Kosmo’s attention. With how the trail was laid out, it was going to take a sharp left and spill them right into the open clearing. And since there was only blackberries on their left, they were going to have to try and sidle up along the edge of the thorny wall without getting poked or caught in it. All while wearing balance-tipping backpacks, too.

Walking the rest of the way toward the end of the trail, Keith didn’t register how calm his heart rate had gone. His breathing was normal and he wasn’t nervously sweating or anything. He wasn’t scared at all thinking about what might be in the clearing right now. He reasoned it was probably because he knew he had Shiro with him and there wasn’t really anything that could shock them anymore. After being paladins of Voltron and encountering so many different alien species—ranging from benign to malevolent—Keith honestly wasn’t going to be scared if they found a bear of all things lurking around. If anything, he thought it would make the most sense to see a bear since it was only trying to feed itself and prepare for winter.

Even if that were the case they were inevitably going to be faced with, Keith didn’t really care either. He just hoped that Kosmo wasn’t going to go off and try to chase the poor creature up a tree or across the field. So long as they kept their distance and that it wasn’t a particularly aggravated bear, then they could easily wait around until it went away on its own. That was at least one of the few instances he would be perfectly fine waiting around for. He wasn’t going to go out there and shoo a bear away.

Keith lead the way, crouched particularly low even with a backpack on as he came upon the edge of the long blackberry bush. He peeked his head around to see the lush green grass of the clearing he had been thinking about all day. It was right there! And they were only hours away from the perfect setting he’s had in mind since February. It was so close, his heart starting ramming into his chest up near the hollow of his throat. He wanted to reached his hand out and touch the soft grass to make sure it was real, but he couldn’t. Caution was better than acting daringly stupid.

He couldn’t risk showing his excitement yet because there wasn’t any sign of the mysterious creature that Kosmo alerted them of. Keith just hoped that maybe it ran off after hearing the wolf’s deep growl from their side of the berry bush.

“Hey,” Shiro whispered. Squat down behind him, Keith turned his head to look past his shoulder to look at him. Metal fist on the ground to keep him steady and his flesh hand on Keith’s shoulder for additional balance, Shiro made a vague nod of his head. Nodding upward, it appeared he was trying to point at something to their left using his chin.

Following the unclear direction Shiro was indicating toward, Keith saw something large, yet lithe briskly moving around on the other side of the bush. Frozen in place, they both watched tentatively as something with warm brown fur walked idly around. Whatever creature it was, it definitely didn’t look like it fit the category for a bear. It was too scrawny from what Keith was able to make out of what little he was looking at. Four skinny legs walked around near the bush and then immediately stopped.

Kosmo gave a warning growl on Keith’s right. Wrapping his arm around the wolf’s neck, Keith shushed him until the growling ceased. He rubbed the area just above Kosmo’s shoulder blades to keep him calm, and to also make sure he didn’t run off after the innocent woodland creature. If he had to, he wouldn’t hesitate to try to hold onto Kosmo’s scruff to keep him from running. He wasn’t going to be successful if that happened, but at least he’d by the creature a one second head start.

“Keith.” It came out as the quietest whisper. Almost gravelly. He didn’t look back at Shiro, but he did give a gentle hum to tell him to go on. The hand that was still on his shoulder patted him to get his attention. Even though the heat of the day was starting to disappear, the heat from their bodies was almost too much for Keith to handle. From where he stood while crouched down, he was hit with the warm rays of sunlight that shone down on his head and upper body.

The creature began to walk away from the bush after a moment without anyone breathing. Even Kosmo had stopped breathing heavily which Keith was ultimately thankful for. When he noticed it moving again, Keith felt his lungs relax as he sighed in relief. He gave a little smirk back to Shiro and carefully stood up. He made sure his boots stayed on the dirt pathway so he wouldn’t accidentally step on a crunchy twig that could scare the creature away.

Once Shiro was on his feet as well, they slowly rounded the edge of the bush to enter the long-awaited destination of the clearing. Shiro stood beside him as they looked around for whatever it was that was on the other side of the wall of blackberries.

Kosmo growled lowly, but with Keith’s hand settled on the back of his neck and a quick shush by his ear, the wolf whined before quieting again.

Shiro’s hand was still on Keith’s shoulder as they watched from the sidelines as a lone deer made her way back toward the safety of the forest. She was elegant as she took a casual stroll across the clearing through the soft green grass—showing no signs of acknowledgement to noticing the three of them standing there to watch her take her leave.

With how she lifted each leg so gracefully, Keith thought about how beautifully simple it was that they were given the chance to see her before she could hide away. When he was sure Kosmo wasn’t going to chase after her, Keith slowly pulled his hand away from the wolf’s nape to let his hand fall down by his side. Stuffing that hand into the pocket of his jacket, Keith leaned into Shiro’s space until his head was resting on top of the man’s shoulder. The hand that was innocently on him moved down to grab him by the waist to pull him in closer. He’s always loved fitting perfectly in next to Shiro like this.

“You know,” Shiro started, “the more I think about it, the more I realize that Earth will probably always feel like home to me. I never knew seeing something like a deer walking around would feel so welcoming and peaceful.” Keith didn’t look up at him when he spoke. He only wanted to watch the agile deer take to a prance as she reached the other side of the clearing. Leaping over a squat bush, she disappeared into the thickness. She didn’t make a sound when she dove into the woods other than to rustle the leaves of a bush. Shiro’s voice, however, brought Keith’s attention to stare at the man’s left hand that moved gently around his waist before settling on top of his hip. “It really is the simple things that made me miss Earth the most. We could be on a different planet on the other side of the galaxy that was welcoming and kind, but I think Earth will always feel like home to me.”

Standing on his toes, Keith didn’t hesitate or let the little flutter of his heart bother him when he boldly pressed a kiss to Shiro’s cheek. Looking up at his gray eyes, Keith took in a deep breath of courage he didn’t know he had lost to tell him, “No matter where we are, as long as you’re there with me, it’ll always feel like home.”

The blush got to him first, and then the dancing of his heart tripped over how odd it was of him to say such a thing. When the heat pooled under his eyes that crept down toward his neck, and he realized he was turning red, Keith tore his eyes away from Shiro and covered his face with a nervous hand. Why must he always be like this? It was always so hard trying to act the way he wanted to with Shiro, but every time he tried to do anything Shiro might consider sweet and adoring, he’d get all flustered and embarrassed.

But it shouldn’t matter right now. He couldn’t escape from Shiro’s embrace when he felt a warm body press against him and two large hands wrap around either side of him. The deep chuckle that rattled in Shiro’s chest was strangely reassuring. While the blush heated most of his face, he could feel the chill in his fingertips start to take over when he hugged Shiro close and linked his hands together below Shiro’s backpack to keep him from escaping.

A soft, slightly wet nose pushed itself against Keith’s thigh as he felt Kosmo nudge him even closer. He didn’t ask for this sort of assistance and wanted to swat the wolf away from trying to help out, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Deep down, he knew he could probably use all the help he could get. If he was going to be a mess of not knowing how to react when they were alone like this, then he better pray that an absolute miracle happened before he proposed tonight.

“Aw, Keith, you’re so cute when you’re like this,” Shiro crooned. “I love you.”

He bent his head down to plant a sweet kiss on Keith’s forehead, and that unfortunately made him turn another shade redder. He wasn’t helping at all! Shiro and Kosmo were out to get him to transform him into a puddle of flustered sentimental emotions.

He squeaked when Shiro squeezed him in his tight grasp and kissed him again, this time on the cheek. Writhing in his hold, Keith tried to escape but found his attempt was proven futile. His arms fell to his sides limply when he couldn’t hold on any longer to his own fingers, and he huffed when Shiro hugged him closer. At least now that his face was buried between Shiro’s pecs, he could smile bashfully without worrying that his smile would be noticed.

The joyous laugh that came out of Shiro made his heart dance in his ribcage. Everything about the man and his pure elation brought weakness to Keith’s entire being every time. With how he was being held, Shiro had to bend awkwardly to keep his arms wrapped tenderly around him. And even though it was next to impossible for him to feel it, Keith still felt the hitch in his own breath when he thought about Shiro magically feeling the ring box. It was still buried under everything else in his backpack, but it was a fear he couldn’t help but shake out of his mind.

“I can’t wait to spend my life with you,” Shiro murmured.

Keith froze. All of the heat slowly drained out of his face to leave him wide-eyed. Did he know what to expect? Was-was he aware of his plan and was just playing along? Toeing the line of curiosity over the subject, Keith pulled his head back to look up at Shiro. As much as he liked burying his face into Shiro’s chest, he really wanted to know what he might have meant about that phrase. Maybe it was just something innocent and Shiro was just being playful and sweet as always. But that felt highly unlikely to him . . .

Blinking up at those kind gray eyes that most likely knew about his secret plan, Keith readied himself for a possible confession. His voice was rough at first, but he found it by the end of his question: “What do you mean by that?”

Gray eyes stalled as they stared down at him as if he wasn’t sure what that question meant, but soon they widened as if he had spoken out of turn. Keith stumbled when Shiro grabbed him by both shoulders to push him back to finally preserve their personal space. Was it something he said? Or the way he had said it? Before he could ask to make sure everything was okay, Shiro tossed him a comforting smile once the brief flash of panic faded from his face.

“Oh! I mean— Look, i-it’s nothing to worry about. I just— why don’t we find a place to set up for the night? I just said it because . . . I just love you a lot, Keith.”

He didn’t wait for Keith to respond—how could he after that?—before pushing away to walk into the clearing. Kosmo charged after Shiro and began to run energetic circles around him. Not sure what to make of that exchange, Keith brushed it out of mind for now. Holding onto both straps of his backpack, he followed after the two of them. He just hoped that Shiro didn’t know what was going to happen tonight.

******

Turning the knob of their small battery-powered lantern, Keith winced when the light glared against the darkness. Sitting on a quilt Shiro had brought with them on the ground, he glanced up toward the entrance of the clearing to make sure Shiro and Kosmo were still gone. They had left a few moments ago so Shiro could pick more blackberries. Even though they had packed plenty of food to sustain them for the night and tomorrow morning, Shiro had insisted on bringing back more berries for them to snack on.

While those two were gone, it gave Keith the perfect opportunity to check and make sure everything was perfect and going as planned. He knew he was known to make brash decisions in the past—especially when he was new to piloting the Black Lion at first—but he believed he’d gotten better with time. He had to make sure that he didn’t have anything that could interrupt them during the special moment.

There weren’t any cicadas crying from the treetops like there had been during the afternoon. Where the cicadas had gone to bed, the buzzing of the crickets took over to fill the void. They were everywhere and all it would take for them to shut up was if Kosmo ran around the field to startle them. Since the wolf wasn’t here right now, however, the crickets chirped on.

At least the light from the lantern provided enough brightness for him to see a few feet into the darkness that surrounded him. It was going to be hard to keep an eye out for Shiro this way, but he did feel safer with the light on for now.

S ince he had a few minutes of guaranteed alone time . . .

Keith could feel the smirk stretch from ear to ear when his eyes landed on the shadowed forms of his and Shiro’s backpacks. Crawling over to his, he stuffed a hand into the main pocket to sift through some loose clothes and a spare blanket. His finger grazed against the soft velvet ring box and he flinched. Shaky fingers pinched the square sides of the box to gently pull it out.

Shiro was still gone and his heart was already hammering in his chest like he was getting ready to ask the four worded question: Will you marry me?

He shuddered just thinking about saying it. He wasn’t repulsed by the words or the strange, traditional sense proposals had. Keith just thought they were always typical with going down on one knee and confessing his love and recounting all the good times they had together before asking the ultimate question. He didn’t know if Shiro cared if he went as far as where he was willing to go, but he seriously hoped he was going to be able to skate by with casually asking if he wanted to get married or not. He didn’t see the need for such theatrics since he wasn’t trying to put on a show for other people.

Whatever happened when that time inevitably came, he was going to have to find inner-strength and courage to get the words to come out. He had been thinking about what he wanted to tell Shiro since he came up with the idea of wanting to propose back in February. Now he just had to figure out how to get the words out of himself so he could do them justice without any fear of backing out at the last possible minute.

He loved Shiro from one side of the universe to the other and wanted to tell him as much. But Keith just wasn’t completely confident in himself he would be strong enough to tell him that using his voice. If only he had the idea to write these thoughts down on paper. Maybe then he could hand it to his love so he could read it. He was sure Shiro would understand since he’s not one for such open confessions. And even though they weren’t technically in public for all to see, it still felt like there were too many hidden eyes staring and watching.

Rather than worry about such an anxious thought, he told himself to ignore it for now. Keith spun himself around to crawl on his knees and laid back against his backpack; hugging the little box to his chest. This way, he’ll be able to keep an eye out for when Shiro and Kosmo come back. At least then they can’t sneak up on him and see he was looking at something that should remain a secret until he’s ready to share it.

Holding the box up and cupping the bottom with his left hand, Keith used his right to slowly lift the lid. The lantern gave him just enough light to see the ring sitting in the little slit to keep it in place. He couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked even now. Surely a one of a kind if he’s ever seen one before. Daring to take the risk, Keith carefully pulled the ring out and pinching it between his thumb and forefinger.

Rather than going the ultra traditional route with finding a typical jewelry store on Earth, Keith had gone the extra mile to make sure this ring was beautifully different from all others. He stared at the small opalescent-like gemstone in the smoothed bezel setting. Even though the unilu jeweler told him it was going to be difficult to refine the stone, he still tried his best at processing it to get it into the ring’s setting.

The unilu had warned him the stone was going to be rough around the edges and most people didn’t like having imperfect rings. Keith didn’t care. He thought it was beautiful when the jeweler returned with what he was able to make of it. Keith wasn’t exactly sure if the stone was an opal or not, and he didn’t bother asking if he could get it appraised to verify it. It’s a fun mystery that he may never find out what sort of gem it was when he found it on a lone metallic comet. He thought it was a mix of coincidence and fate that there was a comet adrift in space when he was on a Blade mission months ago. Like it was calling for him and it told him he knew what he had to use it for.

Wherever the comet was going or where it came from, Keith didn’t know. But he knew that after landing on it to investigate, he had stumbled upon something great for once. He had found a cluster of small gemstones growing out of the comet and chiseled it out with his blade. It wasn’t the best way of utilizing his knife, but it didn’t take much for the knife to break off a decent piece he’d need for research purposes. After the sampling was done, he was given the choice of what to do with it since it was his reward for finding it. And the choice he made was something he believed to be worthwhile: using it to create a ring he commissioned the unilu to make for him.

And to make sure the ring was completely otherworldly, Keith had cut out samples of the meteorite itself. Once he was cleared to keep those samples as well after showing his findings with the head Blade members, he didn’t want to waste time in seeing if it was even possible to use it for the ring. So, in his hand was an engagement ring made from a black malleable metal substance he wasn’t exactly sure of with an alien gemstone in the center.

But that wasn’t even the best part of the ring as a whole. He didn’t want to leave it simply as just a ring with a stone. No, Keith had something better in mind and had to stay late with the unilu jeweler until his store closed for the day to brainstorm ideas for how he wanted the ring to look. Instead of it being a perfect circle like one would expect, they both had come to the decision to unanimously agree on a unique design of having an open ring.

On the right side of the ring was the gemstone. In the setting, it was obvious that it wasn’t perfectly rounded or smoothed down. But to Keith, it was remarkably gorgeous this way because he always thought imperfections were better than uniformed beauty. And on the left side of the opalescent stone was a small crescent moon that had been formed and bent into shape from the cosmic metal. It was his intention to let Shiro know when he finally got to see the ring that no matter where they are—even if they’re apart on separate missions or together on a journey—Shiro will always be reminded of their love for outer space and each other.

Inspecting the fine work, Keith couldn’t recall all the times he had thanked the unilu jeweler for his time in creating the perfect ring. It may have been a foreign concept to the unilu—exchanging jewelry as a commitment for staying together forever—but Keith had been willing to explain as best he could why humans on Earth did such an odd thing.

To be honest, he didn’t understand the exact history over such a tradition that’s been going on for centuries. It’s just what he grew up believing. Of course, Keith never thought he’d fall for the scheme like the billions of others have, but at least this way he can show his love for Shiro without a typical diamond in a golden ring.

He had put his heart and soul into finding something uniquely different, and he’s glad he was able to hold something so exquisite in his hand right now. He smiled as his eyes followed everywhere around the ring; admiring it and looking intently at all of the jagged and warped edges in the gem. Keith almost didn’t notice the vibrant yellow eyes trotting toward him or the baby blue glow of Shiro’s bionic arm approaching.

Keith felt his heart drop deep into his chest when he squeezed his fingers around the ring and slammed his hand down on his stomach. If he moved too suddenly, like he was fiddling around with something such as putting the ring back in the box, he might draw too much curious attention. And he didn’t trust himself to remain calm and act nonchalant. Nor did he care to lie to Shiro’s face about what he was trying to hide from him.

Picking up the box, he sat up and quickly shoved it back inside his backpack before pulling the spare blanket out. Hopefully Shiro will assume he was cold and wanted to wrap up while they watched the stars tonight. But before he could take a deep breath and relax as they both closed in on him, he was reminded that the ring was still in his hand. Avoiding letting any panic settle in his unschooled expression, he raised a hand to wave at Shiro while also shoving the other into his jacket pocket. He made sure the ring was safely tucked inside when he let it go.

Kosmo reached the edge of the quilt first and slowly crawled up to rest his chin on Keith’s thigh. The poor wolf looked exhausted after the day he’s had. At least this time he came back with far fewer thistles stuck to his fur. Keith smiled down at the wolf as he panted hot breath against his legs while he worked on pulling out the few thistles he was able to see. After spending a half hour earlier picking them all out of him, he had gotten fast and precise with plucking each one with hardly any tugging.

“He warped off while I was getting more berries,” Shiro told him as he worked on settling down beside him. Holding a small square cloth by all four corners, Shiro set the bundle on top of the quilt next to Keith’s hip to show the small gathering of blackberries he brought back. In the low lighting, it was hard to guess how many there were at a cursory glance. He looked back to Shiro when he went on to say, “I think he found a bush and likes rolling around in it.”

The wolf yawned out a short whine before nuzzling closer to Keith. After taking off his boots and kicking them off to the side, Shiro knee-walked over to sandwich Kosmo between the two of them. Lying down on his back, Keith saw how Shiro smiled with his arms tucked up underneath his head as he stared up the stars. Mindful of the berries on his left side, Keith shimmied to lie down as well. He shoved at the backpacks when they kept him from lying completely flat. He unfurled the blanket he pulled out to cover his and Shiro’s legs.

Being mindful of not burying Kosmo’s head underneath, Keith gently tucked the blanket around the wolf’s neck to keep him warm. From how Kosmo’s tail thumped up and down before settling again, Keith could only guess he was happily content. He scratched Kosmo’s head for a moment before lying his head down flat on the ground. Once he was able to find a comfortable position, he finally let his eyes stare at the vast darkness of space.

“Mind if I shut this off for now?” Shiro stretched for the lantern but stopped before he could twist the knob to turn it off. Looking over his shoulder, he stared at Keith from the corner of his eye until he was given an answer. Keith only gave a simple nod and they were immediately plunged into darkness with the sound of the knob clicking as it turned. The light that came from Shiro’s arm also dimmed down to a very faint dark blue. Keith had no idea he could do that, and now that he did, he was actually happy it was an option Shiro even considered. Now that the lights were all out around them, the sky glowed with twinkling stars.

Before he let himself get lost to the sight of nothing but the overwhelming grandeur of space, Keith moved his hand around on his left until he located the small pile of berries. He delicately picked up two between two fingers and a thumb. Raising his hand and moving it across his chest, he handed one to Shiro before he could eat the other. Shiro took it, and they made a playful gesture of tapping the berries together like they had a few hours ago.

He made a face when the sour juice hit him hard at the first bite. The bones in his jaw protested when the sweet flavor was more tart than he expected. Puckering against the short bout of pain, it felt like his taste buds were being assaulted. It was at least a relief they were in the dark so that Shiro wouldn’t notice the odd face he was making. He grabbed another berry—making sure it was a larger one than the one he just had—and quickly stuffed it in his mouth. This one was thankfully sweeter and it helped fight against the bitterness from the first.

At least after the first two, the berries became easier to eat. The initial first punch was always the hardest, Keith reasoned as he reached for more. Before they decided to settle down completely for the night, they ate the blackberries and laughed together in the dark when one of them found another sour one. Without the light to see, they tried to coordinate their hands so they could playfully tap the berries together each time.

A fter finishing off the blackberries, Keith licked his lips and brushed his hands together. Still lying between them, Kosmo shuffled himself closer to get more comfortable. His tail didn’t move when Keith gently patted the top of his head between his ears, but Kosmo did let out a pleased sigh through his nose.

Bringing his hand back to his side, Keith finally let himself lie there and relax. Now wasn’t the time yet, but it was drawing near with every minute that passed. He just had to wait a little bit longer and to also keep the idiom Shiro told him in mind: remember to smell the roses. He turned his head to look over at Shiro rather than imagine what roses would smell like.

With one hand tucked behind to hold up the back of his head and the other lying across his chest, Keith was amazed at how relaxed Shiro looked when he was doing something leisurely for once. Even without any light to see, he could still imagine the smile Shiro made as he found himself absolutely enamored with everything in the sky. If he could find a way to get away with it, Keith would gladly spend a majority of their time out here just watching Shiro.

But rather than feel the red wash of embarrassment take over if he managed to get caught staring, Keith righted his head so he could look up at the sky as well. His hand settled down on one of Kosmo’s soft ears when he didn’t want to set it on his chest, and he absentmindedly scratched it. The wolf’s tail wagged this time; thumping again and he panted with presumably his tongue sticking out. Keith didn’t mind if Kosmo got drool on the blanket since it’s to be expected by now. He was a very drooly boy.

“Keith, look over there.” Shiro’s left arm shot up and pointed a finger vaguely toward the skyline. Leaning his head closer toward Shiro’s shoulder—even with Kosmo acting as a buffer between them—Keith tried to guess where exactly he was trying to point. Before he was able to find a definitive location, Shiro went on to say, “Can you see Ursa Major? Just above the treetops, you can see the handle.”   


He squinted. At least with that information, it gave him a slight idea of where to look. Staring low at the tops of the lofty trees pointed tips that stretched along the blue-black sky, Keith saw only speckles of stars. Then, before he could tell Shiro he had no idea where it was, he saw it. Three stars in a near perfect line, with one hanging off on the end on the left side and three more down on the right side of the line in the shape of a backward L, was the constellation.

It’s not like he had never heard of it before; he just didn’t commit the Latin name to memory when he had learned it back at the Garrison. When he thought about it, it felt like it’s been years since he could even remember attending the astronomy classes. It’s definitely been a while since he’s been back there. He wanted to pinch himself for spacing on the idea of not brushing up on some knowledge on the constellations before today. He should have known better since Shiro liked using their official Latin names for the most part.

But for now, Keith didn’t want to fret about what the proper names were. One thing that crossed his mind at the moment was wondering where the Little Dipper was tonight. Keith carefully scanned the surrounding area of what he was able to see around Ursa Major—or, the  _ Big Dipper _ —but he was never able to remember where the little one was. Something about following a specific star on the Big Dipper until it met another one somewhere in the sky. But he could never remember which one it was supposed to be. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Grimacing at his defeat, Keith turned to Shiro and asked for his attention. Tearing his eyes away from space, Shiro looked over at him with a happy, lit up expression. Even in the dark wilderness, Keith could never miss the smile of a man enjoying his time doing something he’s always loved. It could be something as simple as stargazing or something complex like going out to explore a beautiful nebula, but the expression will always strengthen Keith’s heart every time he was given the opportunity to see it.

He blinked to bring himself back in the moment so he didn’t get himself caught up in daydreaming about Shiro. His voice didn’t crack and he didn’t stutter like he was expecting to when he asked, “Do you remember how to find the Little Dipper?”

Shiro hummed. Scooting himself across their quilt to lean his head closer, he pretty much pressed his head into the empty space between Keith’s neck and shoulder. Kosmo didn’t seem to mind being squished between the two of them. The wolf sighed again and seemed to try to go to sleep.

Shiro raised his bionic arm toward the sky and pointed presumably toward the Big Dipper. His voice was low like he didn’t want to disturb the wolf. “See where the last star on the pan ends in the Big Dipper? It’s the one on the farthest right side. That’s the pointer star, Dubhe. Right below Dubhe is Merak.” He waited for Keith to locate it. When he did, he gave a short nod so Shiro could continue. “To find the Little Dipper, also known as Ursa Minor” —Shiro looked over at Keith and waggled his eyebrows playfully. Keith laughed and shook his head— “you want to follow a line starting from Merak to Dubhe and moving up in that direction until you find the next star. The next star is Polaris and its on the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Do you see it?”

To make sure he understood what Shiro was even talking about—he really should have paid more attention in class now that he thought about it—Keith didn’t struggle to find Dubhe of Ursa Major. Drawing a line to connect Dubhe and Merak, which was found underneath the first, he followed the two stars’ pathway through the sky. Squinting to ignore any off-center stars that got in the way of his path, he let his eyes fall back and forth between a random star and Dubhe.

“I wish I had a straightedge,” he mumbled. He made a mock expression of bashfulness when he heard Shiro chuckle at that.

Shiro tried to point back up at the sky but his hand fell back down when he started to giggle.

Keith noticed how Shiro stuffed that hand into his pants pocket, but his laughter certainly didn’t let up. He reached over to shove at his shoulder. “Stop,” Keith whined with a little smile. “It wasn’t that funny.”

His tone said otherwise. Pursing his lips together, he made a gesture of wiping away a tear that wasn’t there. Before he could fall into a fit of giggles like Shiro was already in, who was now busy covering his mouth like he couldn’t get a hold of himself, Keith relocated Dubhe, and followed the path up again.

A little white star blocked his clear path, and he hoped it was Polaris. He didn’t have a photo reference to know what the constellation was supposed to look like, but he’ll happily assume he found it. Even if he can’t figure out which direction to look in after finding Polaris, he’s just happy he was able to find a small part of the elusive Ursa Minor. It could be painstakingly obvious, but he just can’t see it like he can with the Big Dipper.

Glancing down his body, Keith patted Kosmo’s head once more. Sound asleep and breathing lightly, the wolf was probably dreaming about chasing all of the Earth creatures he encountered today. Maybe he was thinking about rolling around in thistle bushes and reliving the moment when Keith and Shiro had to spend time carefully picking all of the plants off him. Keith smiled when he thought about how silly and carefree the wolf got when he wasn’t being serious all the time. Strange, he thought. It was almost like Kosmo was taking after him and Shiro.

After Shiro’s giggle fit, the crickets had shushed themselves into hiding. Without the constant chirps coming from all around, they were both left to lie in silence together. Well, besides Kosmo’s breathing and the brief wind that was starting to roll through the clearing, it was relatively quiet out here. It was blissfully peaceful right now.

If it weren’t for the bright moon crawling its way higher into the night sky, they’d be stuck in absolute darkness. But thanks to the moon, they were granted pale lighting that helped them see each other somewhat well. Shiro had moved away to give Keith some space, and he wished that Shiro hadn’t done that. He wanted him closer. Always closer.

Shiro went back to staring quietly up at the stars. Making the gesture of pointing skyward to himself, he drew invisible lines to figure out where named stars were that drew him to other constellations. While he was doing that, Keith watched at how soft his face looked in the moonlight. He saw how there were always distinct, fine lines that stretched across Shiro’s face when he smiled.

When he thought about it, Keith realized that Shiro’s attitude always grew for the better whenever they did anything related to space. Even if Keith made a comment regarding a certain star or how a galaxy had a sudden influx in visitors for a celebration on a liberated planet in that system, Shiro would be all smiles and excitement to hear about it. It amazed him to no end seeing the joy that came to Shiro every time they talked about the universe together.

Keith couldn’t exactly pinpoint one specific reason that stuck out to him more than the others for why he loved Shiro as much as he did. There were just too many things going on in his head right now that all seemed like viable reasons. With all that they’ve been through together, it was hard trying to decide only one thing out of so many.

Thinking about Shiro like that made him remember the ring sitting in his pocket. He thought about what he planned on saying for when the time came. He’s watched dozens of videos on wedding proposals to get a general idea of what he should say and how he should say it. But if he can’t choose something to confess to Shiro—as much as he disliked the idea of confessing anything he considered private matters in a closed off but open space—he knew he had to come up with  _ something. _

He looked down when something wiggled against his leg and saw Kosmo. The wolf tried to untangle himself from the blanket he was wrapped under but he struggled to free himself. Hind legs hitched up, Kosmo slowly crawled backward out from the blanket that trapped him.

Once free, Keith gave the wolf a quiet laugh when he watched how Kosmo spun himself in a tight circle before lying back down. Staring up at Keith, Kosmo’s bright yellow eyes seemed to illuminate in the darkness. With his head down on the ground, the wolf watched him as if he was waiting for him to finally face this irrational fear of his. Kosmo’s tail thumped lightly up and down as if he were tapping a foot impatiently. If the wolf had to take after one of them right now, he definitely had Keith’s stubbornness at the moment.

Not wanting judgemental eyes on him all night, he tried to open his mouth to say something to get Shiro’s attention. But when he opened his mouth, all he was able to do was close it again. His voice didn’t cooperate to let him speak. He tried once more and quickly sealed his lips again. Keith was at least thankful they were still in mostly darkness right now because he didn’t know how he’d fare if Shiro saw him making faces in a mock impression of a gasping fish.

“Hey, Keith?”

He blinked and snapped his mouth closed. Something heavy settled in his chest and Keith wondered if maybe his heart had finally stopped. Was this it? Did Shiro know he was up to something since this night of them camping under the stars was a small part of one big plan he tried to keep under wraps? Was he really that obvious? Well, there was only way to be sure.

Keith turned his head and focused on keeping himself calm so he wouldn’t accidentally show any telling signs that he was trying to hide something. He was so close to finding the strength he needed to just say the magic words. So close to just getting it out there and over with . . .

“Keith, why did you bring me out here tonight? I’m curious and would like to know.” Their dark campsite blew up in light as Shiro reached to turn the lantern back on. Shiro grabbed it by the handle and set it down gently between them. They sat in the warm yellow light and Keith knew he was going to have to grin and bare it or else Shiro would see his awkward expression. He already wished the light was off so he could freak out in the blessed darkness. He wasn’t ready for this yet.

“Um,” he stalled. Keith kept his eyes trained on the handle of the Big Dipper while he tried not to imagine sweating through his clothes. With his hands clasped together across his chest, he fiddled with his thumbs. Was the light bright enough to show the blush he felt creeping on his face and down his neck? He was just vaguely aware of Shiro lying on his side with a hand holding up his head to stare at him. He was waiting for an answer Keith still didn't feel ready to give. Keith swallowed. “Just for fun.”

“Really? That’s all?” Shiro’s free hand—the bionic one—dove into his pants pocket and rested there. His hand wouldn’t be able to feel “cold.” It was probably just an old habit he couldn’t break. Shiro’s eyes were watching him and Keith knew that if he looked over at him to see sparkling gray eyes staring back, he was going to lose all confidence he’d been trying to build up during the day. Before the silence got awkward again, Shiro looked around the clearing and said, “It’s very nice out here. Quick and peaceful.”

Keith nodded. He had to agree since it was nice not having to deal with people all the time. With everyone else doing their own thing and working on projects, Keith looked around and realized how alone they both were out here. It was just them and Kosmo with no one around to bother them. Beautiful. Alone. With Shiro.

“I know this is a date you’ve set up for us, but I can’t help but feel that it’s missing a little something.” Shiro brought a hand up to ponder at his chin curiously.

“Like . . . like what?” Goosebumps began to slowly crawl up his skin. When Keith looked down, he saw the fine hairs on his forearm standing up. He slapped his hands over them to flatten the hairs but it didn’t work. Keith shook his head and took in a steady breath before sitting up. If there was any courage in the air right now—even if it was a small morsel that Shiro was exuding—maybe he could use it for himself. He was going to need a lot of help to get this done. He stuffed his hands into both jacket pockets and his index finger poked through the opening of the ring that was hiding there. Readying himself to use his voice, he tried to talk. “Shiro—” He bit his lip to stifle himself when Shiro butted in unexpectedly instead.

“I’m sorry, I . . . I think I said that wrong.” Shiro lightly chuckled and sat up as well. He scooted himself closer from underneath their shared blanket until his knee grazed against Keith’s hip.

Keith didn’t think Shiro was being rude or said anything wrong, he was just close to his wit’s end since this was incredibly hard for him to get through. He couldn’t even look the man in the eyes right now because he was too nervous all of a sudden. He didn’t want to clam up and bail at the last minute. To keep himself from calling the proposal plan off, he stared at Kosmo in front of him. The wolf had closed his eyes and breathed softly. Keith wanted to crawl closer to him and use his body as a pillow to hide his face in.

Why did he have to be so awkward and shy right now when he had spent years already with Shiro? They’ve had so many dates and spent so many nights together in the past. This wasn’t even anything he should be worrying himself into a spiral about! But unfortunately, he couldn’t get his heart to obey him and slow down its rapidly beating pace.

Before he could even think about moving a muscle, Shiro’s cool metal hand came up under his chin to lift his head slowly to look at him. With the lantern still between them to light everything around, Keith was hoping he could hide how nervous he was for this special moment. He was absolutely certain now Shiro could see everything on his face.

When he took in Keith’s soft-lidded eyes and how he kneaded worriedly at his bottom lip, Shiro’s friendly face turned into something wholesome and sincere.

“What’s the matter? Was it the way I said it? I’m sorry if that upset you. I didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did.” Shiro shook his head in disbelief when he pulled his hand out of his pocket to hold Keith on either side of his face. His words were sweet and they came out fast as he tried to say everything at once. “I know you’ve spent a lot of time planning this date, and I love every minute of it. I was just saying that because I was trying to lead into something. Please don’t be upset with me—”

“Shiro.” It was Keith’s turn to take his hands out of his pocket and he used one to cover Shiro’s mouth to quiet him. He shushed him before Shiro could apologize or get another word out. This wasn’t how he expected the night to go, and he had to put a stop to it before the mood shifted in an unsavory direction. Keith removed his hand and held Shiro’s face the same way he was being held. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just . . . nervous, I guess. I wanted to— I thought about asking— Ah, I’m so bad at this, I’m sorry.”

“Bad at what?” They both released each other, but Keith could tell Shiro wanted to keep holding his face. “Keith? You know you can tell me anything right? We’ve been through pretty much everything together. You can trust me. Right?”

“I know, I know.” Keith folded his hands together to let them unceremoniously flop into his lap. They were already talking. If Shiro hadn’t said something, then they would probably still be silently stargazing and thinking about the constellations together.

Keith reasoned with himself if he didn’t get his words out to tell Shiro his true feelings for how he felt, then he might not be given another chance tonight. With Shiro waiting patiently for him to gather his thoughts, Keith thought about breaking the ice by taking a proverbial icepick and hacking away at it with abandon. Now or never.

“Shiro, I have something I want to tell you.” He looked up to see Shiro watching him with a kind smile. Eyebrows knitted together in a sweet, understanding expression. A face that could only be saying  _ take your time _ . “Shiro, I— no, that’s not right.” Keith clenched his teeth and sucked in another quick breath. Hopefully this next inhale had some courage he could use. Uncurling his hands, he stuffed one back inside the pocket of his jacket. His fingers reached for the ring he knew was still there and brought it into his fist to hide it. He pulled his hand out and set his fist on top of a thigh.

Closing his eyes, he took a moment to focus on breathing so he wouldn’t mess up his words. His heart beated against his chest as a way to challenge him, but he kept his mind only on taking in steady, even breaths for a moment. A warm arm came up to wrap itself around his shoulder, and he felt his body being pulled toward the right to lean into his love. With his head on his shoulder, Keith felt himself relax when Shiro pulled him in even closer until they were pressed tightly together. He was happy when he was with Shiro, and he knew that if he could get himself over this unreasonable hurdle, then he’d be able to face anything after this.

With how Shiro waited for him to get ready for this, he knew for sure that they really did fit together like two puzzle pieces. They really were each other’s only one, weren’t they?

Keith opened his eyes and looked up at him. He raised his fisted hand between them and gave him his best, true smile. “Shiro, I—” No, this wasn’t right. He had the right words in mind, now he just had to get his voice to work on getting them out. He tried again and didn’t shy away from staring deep into those beautiful gray eyes. “Takashi, I have a question . . . for you.” He opened his hand and spoke up when Shiro’s eyes glanced down to take notice of the ring sitting in the middle of his palm. “Will you marry me?”

“K-Keith . . .” Shiro stammered. Keith held a shy grin as he watched Shiro’s eyes bounce back and forth between the ring and back up to Keith for confirmation this was really happening. It was Shiro’s turn to do his best imitation of a fish since he seemed to have a million things he wanted to say and no way of saying them all at once. “Keith,” he repeated. He said his name again like it was a prayer. His hand flinched by his side when he tried to lift it toward the ring before stopping himself.

Offering his hand to Shiro, Keith gave a small nod. “You can hold it.” His heart continued racing hard in his chest like it was trying to break out of his rib cage. When Shiro didn’t make a move to reach for the ring, stunned from its presence and the question that lingered in the air, Keith thought about making the daring choice to just grab his left hand and put the ring in his palm. Carefully, he placed his free hand on top of Shiro’s flesh one, but he didn’t make any further move. Even though he wanted to just hand him the ring, he thought against doing any rash decisions for now. He still had to wait until he heard what the answer was going to be.

Holding Shiro’s hand made him feel fuzzy inside, but at this very moment with just them in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a billion stars, he’s never felt so fortunate. If there was a rule that Keith had to give a little speech before receiving that all important answer he’s been waiting to hear, then he might as well steel himself to get ready to tell him something.

At least Shiro’s attention was drawn mostly to the ring. Even in the low lighting, Keith could still see the rough edges of the strange gemstone in its setting. Flecks of pale purple and white were most discernible, with a few specks of warm red and tiny black dots covered the beautiful stone. Hopefully, he’ll be too busy inspecting the ring to have the mind to look up and listen to whatever Keith could manage to get out. With his throat slowly tightening up from nerves, he tried to speak as clearly as possible.

“I’ve spent close to four months planning this entire night,” he started. “Even though it was just a walk through the forest and us spending the night under the stars, that was only a small part of why I wanted to spend time with you out here today.”

“Was the main reason you were planning to propose to me tonight?”

“Yeah.” Keith nodded. His hand fell down toward his lap with the ring safely tucked under his closed fingers. Defeated since he knew his words weren’t going to do his feelings any justice, Keith forced a smile and let out a stifled laugh. “I didn’t prepare a speech or anything. I kind of just hoped I could get away with something simple. I wanted— I don’t think I even talk right now.” His self-consciousness spiked high. He was close to resorting to a fit of rambling and he didn’t want that for tonight. Overwhelmed by his emotions flooding in on him all at once, Keith used his free hand to rub away a few anxious tears that tried to fall down his face. “I’m a disaster with this right now. I’m so sorry about this.”

“Hey,” Shiro cooed. Cool metal sat on the left side of his face. Keith held his eyes open long enough to see Shiro smiling at him. That smile held something in it other than just absolute adoration over him. Something more other than offering kind reassurance. No, there was something hidden underneath that visage. Whether it was good or bad, Keith wasn’t in the right mental state to decipher it. He watched as Shiro’s lips moved slowly as he said, “Would you like me to try it instead?”

“What do you mean?” It was one of the smallest whispers Keith had ever uttered.

Worrying at his bottom lip again, Keith waited for Shiro to explain what he meant. Shiro’s expression shifted into a playfully devious look as he moved himself around. He bent his bionic arm at the elbow to dive his hand into his pants pocket to pull something out. Thanks to his large hand, whatever he grabbed was completely covered and remained somewhat hidden. If Shiro hadn’t said anything and made an exaggerated gesture to bring it out, Keith wouldn’t have known he had something in his pocket to begin with. He secretly wondered if whatever Shiro had had been there this entire time.  _ He did seem to stick his hand in that pocket a few times today . . . _

B ut now that Shiro had something in his hand, it made Keith nervous and curious at the same time. Not only did his heart refuse to stop thumping wildly in his chest, he was now stuck with a thousand questions running around his head about what could be in his palm. Keith stared up at him, and tried his best to put on an honest, open face. He sucked in and held his breath the moment Shiro began to talk.

“Keith, we’ve been through so much during these past couple of years together, that I wouldn’t dream of spending any minute of that time with anyone else.” Shiro blinked slowly, his handsome lashes framing the distinctive shape of his sparkling eyes with every fluttery blink. He lifted his closed palm up at shoulder level between the two of them. “I could never ask for anything more so long as I’m able to spend my life with you. Every time I’ve found myself in trouble, I knew I could rely on you to be there to help save me. And each time you were stuck, I couldn’t imagine being one not to help you when you needed a hand. It’s hard for me to imagine all that we’ve done for each other over the years, but I’ve loved spending each and every minute I’ve ever had with you. It’s always been you who’s brought joy and smiles in my life.”

With his chest puffed up, Keith struggled to take in a decent breath after holding it for so long. He wasn’t much of a crier—even prided himself on going months or even a year or so without shedding tears—but tonight was different. It was like everything inside him was finally bubbling its way to the surface and he was reminded of his everlasting love for Shiro. Keith had heard the expression “your life flashing before your eyes” hundreds of time before and all of his thoughts came in as a huge storm of spending his happiest days with Shiro.

He didn’t tear his eyes away from Shiro’s when he noticed the bionic hand open up in his periphery. He only wanted to watch and listen to Shiro as he went on with his well-practiced speech.

“I will never give up on you, Keith, and you’ve never given up on me.” His eyes darted down toward his hand, and Keith dutifully followed to see what was happening. Sitting in the center of his palm was a black square of cloth. Shiro carefully peeled a corner away, and then another to unfold it. As the edges of the cloth cascaded down the sides of his hand, the thing it had been hiding in the center was a single ring. Keith looked back up to Shiro, tongue-tied, when the final words were said. “I don’t want to even imagine what my life would look like without you in it. In this reality, I know you feel the same way I do, and I ask with everything in my heart, will you marry me?”

He couldn’t help but stare at the ring. The lantern gave him plenty of light to see the simplistic, yet stunning design. It could be purely coincidental the centerstone was facing him when Shiro unwrapped it from its confines. A diamond-shaped stone was finely cut to show off smooth edges that complemented the gemstone’s red and black vertical streaks that ran from one corner at the bottom and up to the top. Rather than the stone being set in a secure bezel like most rings he was aware of, this one was held in place by the two other corners. He didn’t understand the logistics of how this was possible, but he assumed maybe it had to do with pressure keeping it in place.

The band, however, was something he wasn’t expecting. It was a silver-colored band but in a groove in the center that wrapped all the way around was a line of purple. Keith wasn’t exactly sure how to explain it, but somehow the purple, red, and black colors worked well together in this ring.

His free hand twitched by his side when he thought about making a move to reach up and take it. But he had to stop himself from getting overzealous and leaving Shiro hanging without a proper answer. Before he was going to tell Shiro what that answer was, he had to tell him something first. Keith struggled to take his eyes off the captivating ring to look up at the man. The ring in his own hand—the opalescent stone with the black metal crescent moon—remained down by his lap while he tried to gauge the situation.

Out of all the videos he watched to get an understanding about dozens of possible scenarios wedding proposals potentially had, this was one he hadn’t been anticipating at all. In fact, Keith was pretty sure he’d never be able to imagine something like this to ever happen to him. He certainly didn’t have any clue what to do now. But it wasn’t the double proposal thing that was leaving him curious. No, there was something else he had in mind.

“How long have you been planning on proposing _ to me?” _ It was a decent question to get things going. It was his plan to ask Shiro to marry him, but for some reason, this moment right now left him confused. Relieved, but very confused. At least he had a good idea that Shiro’s answer might be “yes” at this point. He already knew what his answer for him was.

Shiro only shrugged. Keith’s attention was focused on his lips, and when Shiro made to open them to give an answer, he stopped when they both flinched and heard a peculiar noise in front of them.

Their attention went to the high-pitched sound of Kosmo whining through his nose. Staring at the wolf and seeing him still curled up into a comfortably tight ball, Kosmo whined again. He was watching the two of them with those warm yellow eyes of his with his ears laid down flat on the back of his head. Even his eyebrows looked like he was furrowing them together.

“What’s the matter, buddy?” Keith asked in a low whisper.

He tried to stretch his arm out to pat Kosmo on the head, but the wolf crawled his way toward him until his nose brushed up against Keith’s leg. Being an incredibly large wolf for his size, it didn’t take him a lot to quickly fill in what little empty space was between them. He was close enough for both of them to pet him. Shiro reached out to pet along Kosmo’s side while Keith patted his head like he had aimed for a second ago.

But Kosmo wasn’t acting like he was upset that the attention wasn’t on him. He let out a nasally cry and held his head up to nudge his nose against Keith’s hand that held Shiro’s ring. Keith watched him fondly as Kosmo moved on from him to Shiro to do the same thing. Kosmo knew what they both had to do, and he probably suspected they were wasting time dancing around each other’s same question.

Blinking back up at Shiro, Keith was met with gray eyes already staring back at him. A light blush crept across his cheeks and nose, but he was at least able to trust his voice enough to speak.

“I think I know what he’s trying to tell us.”

“You think so?” Shiro laughed. His eyes wrinkled at the corners when he squeezed them shut. As always, the sudden jovial cheer was contagious enough to get Keith to laugh with him.

Their outburst filled in the silence that surrounded them. Focusing in on the hushed quiet clued Keith in to remind him they were still in the clearing in the forest. If he ignored the roaring rush of blood in his ears and the soft whines coming from Kosmo still, Keith could just barely make out the sounds of leaves rustling in the trees. Either it was from a breeze that didn’t roll low enough to affect them or maybe it was some nocturnal creatures scampering around from branch to branch.

Once Kosmo calmed down his cries after he had received an ample amount of head pats from Keith, the wolf laid his head down on top of his outstretched front paws. Waiting for both of them to get on with it. He knew they were just wasting time  _ not _ answering each other. It was time they move on and finally stop this little song and dance of theirs. Keith had to agree with Kosmo on that one.

Keith’s ears were attuned to the harsh quietude that befell around them. He didn’t realize the crickets had stopped their singing again. That feeling he had earlier where he thought there’d be a thousand eyes on him came crawling back. But before that terrible thought could keep him from moving forward, he pushed it away so he could hold onto the meager bit of courage he still had within him.

“I never realized how quiet it was out here until I heard Kosmo complaining,” Shiro admitted. He continued petting the wolf who seemed to enjoy the tender strokes along the side of his body. The response he got from the wolf was an excited tail that wagged back and forth without any sign of stopping.

“Yeah,” Keith agreed. “Quiet enough that you should probably tell me the answer to my question now.”

“Oh, yeah, I probably should, shouldn’t I?” Shiro concurred with a teasing tone.

Before he answered him, Shiro’s expression softened and turned into something more earnest. He made a simple gesture to beckon Keith closer to him. Scooting over until they were pressed hip to hip, Keith leaned into Shiro’s space and looked up at him. Sitting on Shiro’s left side, he felt a hand naturally find itself wrap around him that settled on the curve of his hip. They didn’t pay any mind to Kosmo, who was staring at them with low ears and wide eyes. They ignored the sudden cadence of the crickets resuming their nightly singing.

“The reason I chose tonight to propose was that I wasn’t sure when my next chance would be.” His voice came out soft like a tranquil whisper—as if the words were only meant for Keith to hear. Listening to him explain, Keith simpered while he laid his head on Shiro’s broad shoulder. He could hear his voice rumble in his ear with how close he was to Shiro’s chest. “I came to the assumption this was just going to be a romantic date, to be perfectly honest with you. I will admit I wasn’t expecting you to be proposing, but now that I know that seemed to be a part of your plan for tonight, I am relieved that we seem to have the same idea.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Keith admitted. Shiro leaned his head down to let it rest on top of Keith’s. With how warm Shiro was compared to the cooling night temperature, Keith enjoyed being held close like this. The awkward feeling he had when he tried to break the ice and finally propose from earlier had calmed down inside him. Now the only thing he could feel was how Shiro was touching him. He closed his eyes to focus on letting the words come naturally. “I honestly didn’t plan on proposing tonight until a few months ago when I was still planning this night. With all the time we’ve spent away from each other on different missions, it made me realize that I always found myself missing you. I don’t want to spend my life without you.”

Keith leaned away to look him in the eyes. Those handsome eyes blinked slowly at him and the little uptick in the corner of his mouth made Keith realize something else. Once he was able to get the initial crack in the ice to break it, he noticed it became easier to talk to Shiro about such sentimental matters. He really did feel that even though they both had come here with the same feeling toward each other—which he had no doubt about to begin with—he knew he had made the right choice in following through.

“Shiro.” Keith made a fist with the hand he kept the ring in and held it up to rest it on Shiro’s chest. Shiro made a similar fist and reached around Keith to grab his hand on Keith’s hip to keep him closer. Staring into those charming gray irises tried to eat up all of his attention; to force Keith to forget what he was going to say. But he made sure to get one last thing out before he’d let that happen. “I love you so much, Shiro. The only thing I hope that happens tonight is that we promise to love each other as much as we do right here, right now.”

“I love you, too,” Shiro answered in a deep, ethereal tone. “I promise I will never stop loving you. You’re my entire world, and there isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not thinking about you.” He removed his bionic hand long enough to hold Keith’s chin up. Keith’s heartbeat began to pick up the pace when he knew what was coming next. As Shiro’s face moved closer to his own, he slowly closed his eyes before the familiar set of lips found their home on his.

Hearing Shiro’s confession ran circles inside his head. This entire trip had been ultimately leading up to this very moment, and Keith couldn’t imagine anything better to happen. He wanted nothing more than for this night to last a lifetime of Shiro holding him close so they could stay like this forever. Unfortunately, Shiro’s lips left his to pull away, but they at least gave him a small mercy of lingering nearby. Keith opened his eyes and stared at him with a half-lidded look.

“I believe we still have one important question that needs answering,” Shiro murmured.

“I guess we’re both waiting for an answer, aren’t we?”

Shiro smirked at him. He hummed and pulled his hand away from Keith’s chin to slowly open his palm, showing off the ring that still waited there. Seeing it in his hand, Keith let out a short laugh. He raised his own hand to show Shiro his ring as well.

Warm lips planted themselves on Keith’s jawline. His shoulders rolled when a shiver ran up his spine in response to the soft touch. Shiro’s voice came out smooth when he mumbled right next to his ear, “Will you marry me?”

He leaned away so Keith would be able to look at him. They both blinked in silence with small grins on their faces. Rather than give an immediate answer, Keith bit the inside of his bottom lip and moved to grab Shiro’s left hand. When Shiro didn’t protest that they were doing it backward, Keith went on with what he wanted to do. He held the ring on both sides between his thumb and forefinger. He held it in front of Shiro’s ring finger, but didn’t put it on him yet. Keith blinked soft, amethyst eyes up at him and gave a single nod of his head.

The warm hand still wrapped around his waist gave him a little squeeze on the hip. Keith blushed and let the smile on his face leak into his quiet voice.

“Yes,” he whispered.

He glanced back down to make sure the ring was still aligned with Shiro’s finger before moving his hand forward to put it on. He also made sure the open part of the ring where the metal moon and the opalescent gemstone were on either side of his finger. He didn’t want it to sit on his finger crooked, so he paid careful attention to how he placed it before slowly removing his hand.

Flashing a coy smile up at Shiro, Keith nodded again. “Your turn.”

The crickets had hushed once more. They were most definitely eavesdropping by now, but he didn’t pay them any mind. As Shiro seemed to move in slow motion, unwrapping his flesh hand from around his waist, Keith felt the world stop before him. He could sense his heart slowing down as he held his breath cautiously so his breathing wouldn’t be too loud in the sudden quiet. He didn’t dare tear his eyes away from Shiro, but he could still tell that Kosmo was watching them patiently; waiting for Shiro to hopefully do the same.

His large hand grabbed Keith’s left one, and their fingers locked together in the grasp. Shiro’s thumb moved back and forth over the bumps of his knuckles. The caress was gentle and tender, as if he was savoring the moment before committing his love for Keith by doing something humans have done for years. The cool, metal hand slowly slipped out of his lightly hooked fingers. Before he could be told what he should do with himself, Keith held his fingers apart from each other and made the effort to slightly lift his ring finger for him.

He blushed when he watched as Shiro pick up his ring from the small square cloth and made the move to put it on him. He paused and waited for Keith. The blush deepened on Keith’s face when he thought about saying the words again, but he made sure he wasn’t going to be tongue-tied this time.

“Shiro, will you marry me?”

He wanted to giggle at the face Shiro made. His lips were parted and he nodded a few times, but no words came out. He watched as Shiro’s head bobbed up and down a couple more times before he forced himself to clear his throat. His eyes sparkled when a smile stretched across his face to answer, “Yes. Of course.”

Keith’s heart stopped beating long enough so he could live in the thrilling moment as Shiro placed his ring on his finger. Keeping the red and black streaked centerstone from being skewed to the side, he wondered if Shiro went through the same exact feeling of life-stopping awestruck he was going through now. The cool metal of the ring grazed along his fiery hot skin as it moved past the joints to be set in place. Once it was righted and set, Shiro grabbed Keith’s hand with his right to let their fingers lock together in an inseparable grip.

Once Shiro’s hand held onto his, Keith felt the world resume spinning again. His heart hammered in his chest once more. He didn’t want to question why staring into his eyes made him feel weak in the knees every time. Keith considered it to be a good thing and he didn’t even care to question it. If Shiro could still make him excited and wonderstruck even after all the time they’ve spent together, he knew they had both made the right choice tonight.

A nose pressed itself up against their joined hands, and they both turned to see Kosmo staring at them with puppylike eyes. He yipped at the two of them and wagged his tail at a ridiculous speed that made the fur there flare out to look like a fan working at high speed.

Reaching his free hand out to pet the wolf, Keith flinched when Kosmo decided to meet him halfway and practically crawl right between the two of them. Kosmo stretched himself on top of both their laps as he wiggled to make himself comfortable. With his head and upper body lying on Shiro and his back legs curled up on Keith, Kosmo lazed his tongue out and turned his head back to stare up at the two of them.

Shiro gave Keith a skeptical look, but at least they didn’t release each other’s hands. Like inseparable puzzle pieces that finally found each other even though the signs had been there all along.

“It looks like we’re not going anywhere for a little bit,” Shiro mentioned. His eyes darted down to regard the large wolf—who turned out to be incredibly heavy when he relaxed on top of them.

Trying to find a spot to get comfortable as well, Keith shifted Kosmo so he didn’t have his legs trapped underneath him and spun around to lean back into Shiro. He grabbed a fistful of the spare blanket and tugged it out from under Kosmo’s weight to cover his upper body. They unfortunately had to let their hands go for a moment, but once he was cozy enough and made sure he wasn’t a bother for Shiro by leaning on him, Keith angled his hand back to grab Shiro’s to wrap it around his shoulder.

Letting out a sigh, it was Shiro’s turn to slowly find a pleasant position to lie in. Bending back, Shiro lied down flat on top of the quilt and stuck a crossed leg out to stretch it from underneath Kosmo.

Neither of them were going to admit it wasn’t the best position to lie in, but so long as they were all holding each other, it was better than nothing.

Staring back up at the sky still littered with a billion stars—ranging from bright dots to faint specks—Keith found himself watching the large moon more than anything. Even though he found his eyes constantly returning to the moon, he still looked around to see if he could find any constellations. He still saw the Big Dipper sitting above the tops of the trees in the distance, and he remembered to follow the stars Dubhe and Merak to trace a path up to locate the Little Dipper’s Polaris star.

As the crickets picked themselves back up to fill in the void of silence, Keith felt himself dozing off to their droning songs. Without the fear of not knowing how the night would play out for them, he was finally able to relax and let himself enjoy the night unhindered. Now that he was lying with Shiro, he’s never felt happier and more relieved that they both said yes. Before he fell asleep in Shiro’s arms, soft lips pressed themselves to his temple for a quick goodnight kiss.

Shiro’s lips moved toward his ear to tell him in a passionate whisper, “You’re my only one.” He kissed the lobe of his ear before lying his head back down.

Keith smiled, and before he finally let himself fall into a dream that could never surpass a night like this one, he took in a deep breath. He let it out in a sigh and found enough of his voice to quietly answer Shiro with, “My only one.”

The moon and the stars watched over them as they slowly checked out for the night to sleep together. As everything was unwinding around them to finally let everything from the day settle in to be remembered for years to come, Keith could ask for nothing more than what he has right now. The only thought that was barely heard in the back of his mind before he drifted off was that they both had said yes.


End file.
